


Cloud and Sephiroth's Adventures in Time Travel

by Interstella



Series: Cloud and Sephiroth's Adventures in Time Travel [1]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Cloud learned his language from Cid, Cloud sleeps with others before getting with Sephiroth, Fanart by CoryMystix, Fix It, M/M, Other fanart welcome, POST AC, Sane Sephiroth, Slow Burn, Time Travel, WIP, but there's no cheating, lots of swearing, redemption arc, seriously
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:40:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 54,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23996893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Interstella/pseuds/Interstella
Summary: “I need your help.” The casual words, spoken from the most terrifying man in the world, were not what Cloud had been expecting when he woke up this morning. Hell, none of the days’ events were things he had been expecting.When he woke up, he had expected to be in his room at Seventh Heaven. Not a bad expectation, since that was where he had gone to sleep the night before. In fact, it was a rather normal expectation to have. That one would wake up in the same place that they bed down for the night.On HIATUS
Relationships: Sephiroth/Cloud Strife, one off Cloud Strife/Genesis Rhapsodos
Series: Cloud and Sephiroth's Adventures in Time Travel [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1786588
Comments: 476
Kudos: 1243





	1. What The Fuck??

**Author's Note:**

> All art done by CoryMystix, who you can find at https://www.instagram.com/fandom_trash_cory/ 
> 
> Cory is also my very own live in beta.

“I need your help.” The casual words, spoken from the most terrifying man in the world, were _not_ what Cloud had been expecting when he woke up this morning. Hell, _none_ of the days’ events were things he had been expecting.   
  
When he woke up, he had expected to be in his room at Seventh Heaven. Not a bad expectation, since that was where he had gone to sleep the night before. In fact, it was a rather _normal_ expectation to have. That one would wake up in the same place that they bed down for the night.   
  
Instead, he had woken up in military barracks. A place he hadn’t seen in over a _decade_ , with no memory of how he got there, or indeed _when_ he was. It hadn’t taken him long to adapt, to fumble his way through barely remembered morning routine with enough grace to be able to blame his actions on a bad night's sleep.   
  
Somewhat luckily for him, before he could get lost in the panic of trying to figure out what he was expected to do with the rest of his day, a second class SOLDIER had found him. The man had been pleasant enough, but his words left Cloud with a deep sense of discomfort.   
  
Apparently General Sephiroth had asked for him. By _name_ .   
  
So here he was, on the most confusing morning of his life, standing in Sephiroth’s office (since when did Sephiroth have an _office_ ?!) with the man casually asking for his help while lazily flipping through paperwork. He wasn’t even _looking_ at Cloud.   
  
So maybe Cloud could be forgiven for his lack of filter in his reply. He’d had a hell of a day so far, and it was only seven in the morning. His brain was barely working, definitely _not_ understanding the events transpiring, and he’d spent far too much time with a particularly _eloquent_ pilot of late.   
  
“What the fuck?” He stared at Sephiroth through his helmet, somewhat glad the other couldn’t see the completely bewildered look on his face. Eventually, his brain caught up with him and reminded him of where, of _when_ he was, and he tacked on a hasty “Sir.” at the end, hoping to salvage something of the situation. Maybe, if he was lucky, he could get through this meeting without becoming intimately acquainted with Masamune. _Again._ _  
_ _  
_ His answer caused Sephiroth to finally look up from the pages in his hands, and the man simply stared at him for a moment. Cloud tried to force down the instinctual fear and anger in an attempt to stay calm enough to figure out what the _fuck_ was happening to him. He couldn’t, however, control the movement of his arm. He stopped it the moment he noticed his hand reaching for a sword he wasn’t wearing, but the movement was enough for Sephiroth.   
  
He gave a small nod and returned his attention to whatever the fuck he was doing on his desk. “I need your help.” The General repeated, tone still far too casual for Cloud’s liking. “I need you to prevent the Nibelheim Incident that will happen approximately six months from now. To that end, I am officially taking you on as an apprentice. My role as your mentor will allow you more freedoms than that currently afforded to you in the infantry.” As he spoke, Sephiroth turned to the computer on his desk and began typing. “As of now, you are officially under my direct supervision and command.” He looked up at Cloud again, expression patient. “Do you have any questions?”   
  
Yeah. Cloud had a question. One big one, and maybe a few smaller ones. But the big one was the one that left his mouth first. “What the _fuck_ ?” He repeated his earlier sentiment, not bothering to add the honourific this time, because honesty, _what the fuck was happening right now?_   
  
Sephiroth sighed softly, as if this was a mild inconvenience instead of a thoroughly confusing mess of inconsistencies in Cloud’s life.   
  
“Take off your helmet.” He ordered, and Cloud found himself complying without really thinking, his brain being used somewhere else and floundering completely. His helmet held loosely in his right hand, Cloud looked up at Sephiroth who simply nodded. “Good.” The man said, almost to himself.   
  
“What-”   
  
“The fuck. I know.” Again, Sephiroth sighed, leaning back in his seat and continuing to regard Cloud. “You _are_ aware of the incident I’m speaking of, yes?” He questioned, perhaps a little too late.   
  
It took Cloud a moment to reply, his stiff nod an afterthought as he recovered from hearing Sephiroth swear. That was something _else_ that was new. Gods, could today get any _weirder_ ?   
  
“And, I am assuming that you wish to prevent that, now that we have been given the opportunity?” Again, Cloud just nodded once in response to Sephiroth’s question. Of _course_ he would want to stop that. That was the beginning of the end. The first in a series of events that cripled his world, almost _ended_ it.   
  
“But… why do _you_ ?” He finally managed to say something other than the question still burning in the back of his mind.   
  
“Whether you believe me or not,” Sephiroth began, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his desk, “Nibelheim was not my idea. Nor was it entirely my will.”   
  
“Excuse me?” Apparently the day _could_ get weirder. Cloud wasn’t entirely sure if he’d actually woken up. Maybe this was a dream. A weird, surreal, oddly realistic, dream. “ _You_ set those fires.” He accused. Anger burned through him at the implications of this conversation. Was Sephiroth trying to blame someone else? To somehow absolve himself?   
  
“Yes.” The man agreed with Cloud’s words, “It was my hand, my materia, that started those fires.” At least he was admitting that much. “That action was mine. But my mind was not.”   
  
“What?” Cloud frowned, never once taking his eyes off his long time enemy.   
  
“From the moment I stepped into that town, my mind was attacked.” Sephiroth spoke a little more slowly, as if not sure if Cloud could keep up. Which, fair, Cloud wasn’t exactly a shining example of intelligence in this meeting. Still, it was a _little_ insulting. But he didn’t interrupt to speak his protests. Instead, he let Sephiroth continue.   
  
“It took a few days, but eventually I was overcome. After reading what I did, I…” And finally, Sephiroth hesitated, averted his eyes, unsure of his words, or himself. Cloud didn’t really care. “I lost the will to fight. I allowed Jenova full access to my mind.”   
  
“What?” Cloud knew more words than that. Really he did. But it was just the most appropriate word for this meeting, apparently.   
  
Green met blue as Sephiroth looked up again. It took effort, but Cloud managed to keep eye contact without flinching for his sword again.   
  
“You know what it is like,” Sephiroth’s words were quiet, but Cloud had no problems hearing him. “To be a puppet.” Sephiroth once again glanced away before returning his gaze to Cloud. “But it was not _you_ who was the empty one.”   
  
What? Cloud blinked at Sephiroth, granted a moment to think by the General. His mind was spinning, twisting with the implications that Sephiroth was suggesting, tumbling over emotions and unable to settle. Revulsion at the reminder. Horror at the memories the word ‘puppet’ always seemed to bring up. Nausea as he realized exactly what Sephiroth was saying.   
  
He _did_ know what it was like to be a puppet. To be controlled against his will, unable to stop himself from committing atrocities. He remembered handing over the key to the end of the world. The weight of his blade as he held it above his friend. He remembered the heavy steps he couldn’t take back. The absolute helplessness when he realized he was powerless to stop himself.   
  
But what was Sephiroth saying, what was he implying…? That he had been in the same state? That he’d been controlled, powerless to stop himself as he tried to destroy the world? Was he honestly telling Cloud that what happened _wasn’t his fault_ ?   
  
“No.” Cloud wouldn’t accept that. He couldn’t. He couldn’t bring himself to believe the man. Obviously this was a ploy. A way to get Cloud to forgive him, maybe even to trust him. To get him to let his guard down. Sephiroth could use that to take him out, and then there would be nobody to stand in his way. Cloud wouldn’t let it happen again. _Couldn’t_ .   
  
“No?” Sephiroth frowned, a look of confusion briefly flicking across his face before he once again schooled his expression into impassive blankness.   
  
“You don’t get-” Turbulent emotions finally settled on anger. He didn’t want to pity Sephiroth, to sympathise with him. So he settled for his default setting when it came to the man that had meant so many different things to him in his life. Anger. “You don’t get to just _pretend_ that it wasn’t you! You don’t get to just stand back and go ‘oops, well it wasn’t me’! You tried to _destroy the world_ ! To kill every living being, every innocent soul. _Twice_ ! So no. Sephiroth, you _don’t_ get to say you had no control.”   
  
There was silence for a moment before Sephiroth gave a small nod, as if he had anticipated this reaction. “Very well.” He agreed, “I will take responsibility for my actions. So long as you do the same.”   
  
“What?”   
  
“Had it not been for you handing me Black Materia, I would have never had the ability to do what I did.” Sephiroth pointed out calmly, as if he was simply pointing out a well known fact. “So if I must take responsibility for almost destroying the world, then so too should you.”   
  
“That’s not-” Cloud hadn’t had a _choice_ in that matter. He hadn’t had _any_ control over his body in those moments. Hell, he barely had control of his mind. Sephiroth _knew_ that. _He_ had been the one to control Cloud!   
  
“Not the same?” Sephiroth finished Cloud’s sentence, his tone bordering on dangerous while barely changing at all. “It’s _exactly_ the same.”   
  
Cloud stared at Sephiroth. His brain had officially _stopped_ . How was it, that he could endure Hojo’s experiments, watch not one, but _two_ of his closest friends die in front of him. Live through the end of the world _twice_ and come out of it on the other side relatively intact. How was it that he could live through that, but _this_ was what made his brain break?   
  
The way Sephiroth had put it, the way he’d described it and related it to Cloud’s own experiences had put a new twist on the things that Cloud had believed to be firm facts. The end of the world had been brought about by this man. The burning of his home town, the death of the only girl he’d ever fell for, was entirely the fault of this one man. Except… Except now it _wasn’t_ ?   
  
“What. The fuck?” As if on autopilot, Cloud finally moved from his stiff standing position. His helmet fell to the ground as he heavily dropped into the one seat available in front of Sephiroth’s desk. He gave himself a moment to let his brain catch up with the conversation. “Are you telling me that everything that happened… that was all _Jenova_ ?” He questioned, his voice weak even to his own ears.   
  
“Precisely.” Another moment passed before Sephiroth continued. “It is my hope that should we not have a plan before those events transpire, you will be able to stop me _before_ we leave for Nibelheim.” He regarded Cloud for a moment, “You retained your enhancements, so you should be capable of such, yes?” He stated that like it was a fact, and Cloud frowned at him. What gave him _that_ idea? Somehow, he was back to being a trooper. That meant that he was somewhere between fifteen and sixteen, right? Given that Nibelheim was six months away, that made him fifteen.   
  
He hadn’t been enhanced at fifteen. It wasn’t until he was _sixteen_ that he’d been left to Hojo.   
  
Sephiroth seemed to notice his confusion, “Your eyes glow with mako.” He told Cloud. “You did not notice?”   
  
“I’ve been awake for an _hour_ , Sephiroth.” Cloud pointed out, slumping further in his seat. “An _hour.”_ He repeated. “And in that hour, I’ve found myself suddenly a teenager again, in a place I barely remember, having a casual conversation about the end of the world with my arch nemesis. So forgive me if I’m a little slow on the uptake.”   
  
“Ah.” With that utterance, a silence fell. When it became clear that Sephiroth wasn’t going to say anything further, Cloud looked up at him with a frown. It seemed that Sephiroth was simply waiting for Cloud to catch up. He’d taken Cloud’s words at face value.   
  
“Okay. Okay. So let me get this straight.” Cloud began, rubbing a hand over his face, feeling utterly exhausted. “You’re telling me, that you were a puppet of Jenova the whole time, and you want me to make sure that it never happens again?” He didn’t wait for Sephiroth to speak, only gave him time to give a small nod, “And to do this, you’ve decided that I’m going to be your ‘apprentice’?” Another nod. “And you expect me to be able to kill you if we can’t figure something out before we have to leave?”   
  
“You’re the only one that can.” The General pointed out with a careless flick of his wrist.   
  
“Yeah. I’m not sure about that.” Cloud mumbled, running his hand through his hair. “I may have kept my enhancements,” and wasn’t _that_ a whole kettle of fish? There were so many problems with that, that Cloud was tired just _thinking_ about them. “But I’m _fifteen_ . I have no _idea_ what I’m capable of right now.”   
  
“Then perhaps some training is in order?”   
  
Cloud looked up at Sephiroth and hesitated. “I… Need some time to process all of this.” He told the general, deciding that honesty was probably the best course of action right now. “Right now, I’m going to figure out where the fuck the commisary is, and how the fuck I’m supposed to pay for stuff, and then I’m going to eat some breakfast before I try to figure out _any_ of this shit.” He gave a dismissive wave as he stood and retrieved his helmet. Remembering what Sephiroth had said about his eyes, he shoved it firmly on his head, glad that it would hide his eyes.   
  
“Wait.” Sephiroth leaned to the side and rifled through a draw in his desk, producing a mobile phone. He offered it to Cloud, “My number and email address are already programmed in should you need anything. We will begin our training tomorrow. I will ensure that today is recorded as leave so nobody will come looking for you.”   
  
With a hesitant nod, Cloud took the device and pocketed it without even looking at it. He didn’t want to think about it. About _any_ of this. He didn’t want to understand and sympathise with Sephiroth. He didn’t want to question what he thought was true. He didn’t want anything to _do_ with any of this. And worst of all, this whole morning had left him with one gigantic question.   
  
_What the fuck?_   
  
\-- -- -- -- --   
  
After food, Cloud felt somewhat better, though his question was still not answered. He had, however, broken down some of his resolve and taken a look at the phone. He wasn’t sure if Sephiroth had anticipated that he wouldn’t remember much of this time period, or if it was standard for certain information to already be loaded on the phones. Whatever the case, he was thankful.   
  
He spent the hour after breakfast sipping on a cup of black coffee and flicking through the files on his phone. There was a lot there - from the floor plan of the general areas of Shinra HQ (there was nothing on the upper levels, only the publicly accessible ones), personnel files, even his previous training schedule. There was an app that linked directly to the news outlet (that Shinra controlled), and a map of sector 8.   
  
As he was making his way through the files, a new message popped up. Official orders to report to duty tomorrow morning at 0800. There was a location, and after a quick check of his map he realized it was quite close to his room. At least he wouldn’t have to get up too early.   
  
That gave him the rest of the day to figure out what his limitations were. Technically, he should have been thinking on the current problem that Sephiroth posed, but honestly he didn’t have the mental energy for that. Not yet.   
  
He had always thought better when he had something to do anyway. So he found his way to the gym, deciding to use the facilities to test his current fitness and strength levels. At least as far as he could without arousing suspicion.   
  
\-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --   
  
It was well into the evening before Cloud left the gym, seriously regretting the fact that he hadn’t gone there dressed appropriately at all. He had peeled off most of his uniform during his workout, but the rest of it stuck to him uncomfortably and was more than a little smelly. Thankfully, nobody seemed to be around, so the communal showers weren’t as intimidating as he remembered.   
  
He had no issues with nudity, even in a public setting. What he _did_ have issues with, was being that vulnerable around complete strangers. That, and he didn’t want to get recognised by somebody he couldn’t remember. Still, he took as little time as he could, and quickly made his way back to his bunk.   
  
Technically, he was supposed to be sharing his bunk with another two men, but cross referencing the names on the door with his duty roster on his phone, he was able to determine that they were both on a mission and would be unlikely to return before the next evening. Perfect.   
  
This meant that now, after having had his evening meal, worked out in the gym, showered and changed for bed, Cloud had absolutely nothing to help him procrastinate any further. He was going to have to think about the predicament he found himself in.   
  
\-- -- -- -- -- --   
  
The next morning didn’t bring any answers with it, even after a night of fitfully tossing and turning rather than sleeping. Cloud had no idea where he stood with Sephiroth, how much he could trust him, if at all. If what the General was telling him was true, that he’d had no say in the events that had unfolded, then that made him as much of a victim as Cloud himself. Arguably _more_ of a victim.   
  
But did that excuse what he had done? The destruction that had been wrought by his hands? Cloud’s knee jerk response had been to say no - Aerith’s final moments flashing through his mind - but then… But then Sephiroth had a point. If Cloud blamed Sephrioth, he had to agree to his own culpability. _He_ had been the one to hand over Black Materia. To give Sephiroth the tool to destroy the Planet. It had been him that had paved the way for what came next.   
  
Cloud had only once been able to resist Sephiroth’s - _Jenova’s_ \- will. He had struggled dearly with it, and if it wasn’t for the horrified voices of his friends he probably wouldn’t have succeeded even then. If not for them, it would have been his hand that caused Aerith’s death.   
  
But Sephiroth hadn’t had friends to stop him. Cloud could only imagine how it had been for him. Trapped behind a wall within his own mind, powerless to do anything to stop the actions of his body, taking the blame for all the awful things that came because of _her_ control. Nobody to hold him back, nobody caring enough to _try_ .   
  
By the end of his night, his spiraling thoughts had led him to begin _pitying_ Sephiroth. Not only for the lack of control, but also for the fact that it seemed like anybody who had ever cared for him had been gone. Either through death or abandonment.   
  
Had Sephiroth ever had friends? Cloud could remember Zack calling himself one, but Zack was friends with everyone he ever met, so it was kind of hard to take those words at face value. Just because Zack had been genuine with his affection, didn’t mean that Sephiroth had returned it.   
  
Cloud had to shake himself out of his thoughts as he arrived at his destination. It seemed that the coordinates in his orders had led him to Sephiroth’s office. A quick look at his phone told him that he was exactly on time, so he knocked on the door right away. No need to procrastinate any further. Best get whatever this was over with. At the very least, it would provide a reprieve from his tumultuous thoughts.   
  
Sephiroth beckoned him in from inside and with a deep breath Cloud pushed the door open to start his day.   
  
Inside his office, Sephiroth was sitting behind the desk - exactly where Cloud had left him the day before - studiously bent over some paperwork. His position was almost exactly the same as it had been the previous morning, and Cloud idly wondered if the man had even moved.   
  
Green eyes flicked from the pages to regard Cloud for a second before returning to the work on his desk. “Take a seat.” He offered, and though he wasn’t sure if it was an order or not, Cloud found himself complying.   
  
He was completely out of his depth. He had no idea what was happening, or what was expected of him. His instincts were screaming at him to fight, to kill Sephiroth, to do what he’d spent the better part of his adult life attempting. He had to push those instincts down to sit calmly on a chair. Not that attempting a fight right now would have done him any good. He didn’t even have a sword.   
  
Silence fell for a few minutes until Sephiroth signed the page he was on and put it aside with a soft sigh and turned his attention to Cloud. “Thank you for coming.” He said formally.   
  
“You ordered me here.” Cloud couldn’t help but point out. He had realized that unless he wanted more problems than he already had, he would have to play nice and follow the orders of his ‘superiors’ in order to blend in.   
  
Sephiroth nodded and turned his attention back to his desk. He slid some papers across to Cloud. “I need you to fill out this.” He told him, “A formality with the mentorship program.”   
  
“You’re serious about that?” Cloud couldn’t help but question even as he leaned forward to read the form. It seemed simple enough. There were a few things he couldn’t answer off the top of his head - things like the contact details for next of kin - but otherwise straight forward.   
  
“Would you prefer to remain within the general army?”   
  
“Not really.” He took the pen offered to him and began to scribble the answers in the spaces provided, his attention still mostly on Sephiroth. “I have no idea what I’m doing.” He admitted.   
  
“Then this is your best option.”   
  
“Not like I have a choice, even if I _did_ disagree.”   
  
“Oh?”   
  
Cloud sighed, finishing what he could of the form and putting it back on Sephiroth’s desk. “It’s either follow your orders, or find a new job.” He pointed out, “I’m in a time that’s not mine. Nobody to lean on, and nowhere else to go. And _if_ what you say is true, I’ve got a chance to undo the worst day of my life and protect the people I love. Like it or not, that means I need to stick close to you. To make sure it doesn’t happen again.”   
  
Sephiroth gave another nod, but seemed hesitant. After a moment, he picked up the pages that Cloud had returned and made a show of looking through them. “While I am technically your superior officer,” He began, “I have known what it is like to be forced to bide by the will of others. I have bent you to my will in the past, and have no desire to do so again.” He lifted his gaze from the pages and purposefully maintained eye contact with Cloud. “So we will play soldier. While in the presence of others, you will be expected to follow my orders. But you are my equal and where possible I will treat you as such.” With his peace said, Sephiroth returned his attention to his paperwork.   
  
“Can you?” Cloud questioned, his voice engaging before his brain and asking a question he didn’t really want the answer to. “Control me, I mean.” He added. “I still have the endurance and strength I had before.” His gym session had told him that much at least, “But in this time - this body - I’ve never been near Hojo. I have no idea _how_ I got enhanced.”   
  
There was the chance, the small possibility, that his enhancements were now a gift from the planet. Or maybe even a side effect of whatever brought them to this time. Cloud wanted to hold on to the hope that whatever had allowed him to keep the mako in his blood had managed to somehow erase the taint of Jenova.   
  
Sephiroth paused for a moment, as if considering his words. “I won’t know for sure unless I try.” He told Cloud slowly, “But I can sense her cells within you.”   
  
There went that hope. Cloud felt himself deflating in his seat. It was probably too much for him to ask for anyway - to be free of Jenova. But he _had_ hoped.   
  
Silence fell between them, and went on long enough for Cloud to get uncomfortable enough to talk. “So… what now?” He questioned.   
  
“I will file the paperwork.” Sephiroth answered. “And then I will compile a training schedule. I will also have you exempted from what duties I can. You will likely still be required to conduct standard patrols around the upper plate, but you should not be assigned to general missions, unless you are accompanying me.”   
  
That seemed straightforward enough. Convenient too - it meant that Cloud didn’t have to try to remember things that should have been well known to him. It was one less thing to stumble through and if he was clever about it, the rest should be easy to pick up on. Avoiding his room mates should be simple enough too.   
  
“And for today?” He questioned, having no idea what he was supposed to do next.   
  
“We will train this afternoon in the simulation room on the forty ninth floor. I will let you know what time it is free. Until then I suggest you refamiliarise yourself with general protocol.” He gave a small wave that was obviously a dismissal. Cloud tried not to be irritated by that, and let himself out without another word.   
  
This was going to be a lot to get used to.


	2. The First Son

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Cloud muttered, a look of vaguely offended disbelief on his face as he stared at the enemy that Sephiroth had selected for him.    
  
The training room had been a bit of a surprise for him, but it had only taken him a moment to understand what was going on. None of it was real, and the chances of getting seriously injured were small. But that didn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt.    
  
Sephiroth had warned him that until the simulation was over, it would  _ feel _ real. Any and all injuries that he received would hurt and debilitate exactly as it would in the real world, and he would still be feeling it afterwards.    
  
That was the theory anyway. It wasn’t like Cloud was going to get injured in  _ this _ mission. “Seriously?” He questioned, staring at the lone Kalm wolf frozen before him, waiting for the simulation to fully begin.   
  
“Yes.” Sephiroth answered from where he stood several feet away in the artificial desert. Apparently it was standard to have someone ‘supervise’ the training sessions from within the room.    
  
“I can, and  _ have _ defeated  _ you _ .” Cloud felt the need to point out, feeling more than a little insulted that Sephiroth would deem a lone wolf an adequate challenge.    
  
“Yes.” Sephiroth agreed again, “But that was as an adult. You are smaller now,” He pointed out, reminding Cloud of the fact that he was trapped in an adolescent body. Said ‘adolescent’ hastily wiped the pout off his face, hoping that Sephiroth didn’t notice. He did. “Your limbs aren’t as long as you’re used to. You’re training with an unfamiliar sword in an unfamiliar body. I doubt you’ll have trouble with this, but I’ve been told it’s wise to work upwards.”    
  
Cloud sighed, eyeing the SOLDIER standard issue sword. It was affectionately known as the ‘toothpick’ by the ranks, and was known to break when put under too much pressure. Still, it was what he had available to him, and he definitely felt better armed. Even if it was with a cheap, brittle weapon.    
  
“Fine.” He muttered, taking a ready stance. He adjusted slightly to compensate for the lighter weapon, “Let’s just get this over with.” He didn’t admit out loud that Sephiroth may have had a point, but really, he didn’t have to.    
  
It was scary how well Sephiroth seemed to know him.    
  
As expected, the Kalm Fang fell with little effort. Cloud didn’t even have to move. He simply waited for the animal to rush him, and slashed as it jumped. The wolf fell to the ground with a yelp and rapidly disappeared in a computerised mist.    
  
He was about to tell Sephiroth that they needed to up the difficulty when he was suddenly faced with three more fangs. This was a little more tricky, but the battle was over almost as quickly as the first. This continued on for a short while, each time he struck a wolf down, more would appear until he was fully surrounded and Cloud finally had to  _ think _ .    
  
That was when the battle went downhill.    
  
His body wasn’t reacting quite how he expected. His blows were slower, clumsier, and he found himself under reaching more often than not. It made it tricky to plan the next move and eventually he tripped over his own feet, landing with a thud in simulated dirt. His sword came up to protect himself against a set of sharp teeth, leaving his side open for another maw.    
  
He couldn’t hold them all back from where he sat, and he couldn’t shake them off long enough to stand. His limbs were slow and heavy, and his sword arm was rapidly wearing out. He knew that he could call an end to the battle at any point, but sheer stubborn pride prevented him from doing so.    
  
He brought his fists and feet into the battle, kicking the wolves away when he could, but he was losing this battle and he knew it. Still, he refused to be thankful when the simulation froze then fell away. Instead, he glared up at Sephiroth while catching his breath.    
  
“I had it under control.” He growled out.    
  
“Of course you did.” Sephiroth’s amusement was obvious, though Cloud was sure he could see a little concern behind the smirk. “You were simply bleeding to mislead them.”    
  
Looking down at himself, Cloud let out a groan and sighed. Okay. Fine. He  _ didn’t _ have it under control. What he didn’t understand was  _ why _ ?    
  
He’d killed Sephiroth no less than three times. Fought and defeated three of his remnants at  _ once.  _ He’d fought against Shinra’s finest, WEAPONS, and Jenova herself and came out on top. So why was he having trouble with monsters that even  _ Denzel _ had been able to fight off?   
  
A hand in front of his face caught his attention, and Cloud stared at it for a moment. Sephiroth watched him, waiting for him to make a decision.   
  
Dismissing the offer of help, Cloud climbed to his feet, hissing at the pull on his wounds. While the fangs had disappeared, the simulation wasn’t over so the holes in his side remained.    
  
Sephiroth let his hand drop and watched Cloud. “You were overthinking.” He told the blond. “Your mind and instincts are at war. Your body knows what to do, if you just let it. But once you begin to think about your movements, you go astray.”    
  
“What?” That meant absolutely  _ nothing _ to Cloud. He knew that sometimes in battle you  _ had _ to think. Even if it was only against a pack of wolves.    
  
“You need to learn to rely on your instincts.” Sephiroth explained. “Once you begin to think, you focus too much and lose your flow.” He waved his hand and a familiar magic washed over Cloud, healing all his injuries completely as Sephiroth unleashed a FullCure spell.    
  
“You want me to  _ not _ think about what I’m doing?” He questioned, eyebrows raised. That didn’t seem like the sort of thing that would work.    
  
“Do you have anything to lose if you try?” Sephiroth challenged.    
  
“Fine.” With a sigh, Cloud re-took his ready stance.    
  
\-- -- -- -- -- -- --    
  
As it turned out, letting himself fight on instinct was not  _ nearly _ as easy as it sounded. He would lose himself in the flow of battle for a time, but the minute there were more than six enemies, or more powerful beasts, Cloud ended up stumbling as he tried to think of a strategy.    
  
This didn’t bode well for if he had to fight Sephiroth again. Those battles had been anything  _ but _ simple. Cloud had had to use all his skill to win them, both physical  _ and _ intellectual. There was no way he could win with instinct alone.    
  
He’d lost count of how many times he’d found himself on his ass or his back, but eventually Sephiroth shut down the simulation and Cloud just let himself lay there for a moment. As promised, the pain of his injuries faded with the artificial surroundings leaving him with nothing more than heavy bruising.    
  
Still, he stayed lay down for a while, giving himself a small break to gather his thoughts and catch his breath. He was getting better. At least, he thought he was. But they’d been at it for  _ hours _ and he was still nowhere near what he had been before.    
  
A slow clap startled him slightly and he leapt to his feet, sword held before him in a defensive stance. Who could sneak up on  _ him _ ?    
  
A soft sigh from Sephiroth told Cloud that the General knew the intruder, and strangely that allowed him to relax a little in his stance.    
  
“Genesis.” Sephiroth’s tone was one that Cloud had never heard before. Exasperated, sure, but also somewhat… fond? “To what do I owe this pleasure?”    
  
“ _ Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess. _ ” The stranger began and Cloud got the rare opportunity to watch Sephiroth roll his eyes and shake his head.    
  
“And to what are you flying towards now?” The General asked, turning his back on Cloud to face the man in red.    
  
“I have heard an interesting rumour.” Genesis walked around the room, and to anyone untrained it would look almost casual. But Cloud was a warrior and could see the purpose in the strides. He was assessing Cloud, watching him subtly as he moved. “The higher ups are in a bit of a tizzy. And more than a little confused.” His attention never left Cloud, but he also never turned his back fully on Sephiroth either.    
  
“I have little time for prattling, Genesis. Get to the point.” Sephiroth watched with a critical eye, but didn’t move to intercept as Genesis slowly made his way closer to Cloud from the edge of the room.    
  
“I hear you have a new pet.”    
  
Those words caused Cloud to bristle and his hands tensed around his sword at the insinuation. He barely held back a growl. He didn’t  _ belong _ to Sephiroth and neither was he an  _ animal _ . He was his own person and a human damn it!   
  
A look of confusion filtered over Sephiroth’s features before it was smothered. He didn’t seem to know what to say in response, but that didn’t seem to matter. Genesis smirked at Sephiroth and gestured to Cloud with a lazy wave of his hand.    
  
“It’s not like you to take on an apprentice.” He pointed out. “Jealous of Angeal’s puppy?” He suggested.    
  
If Cloud hadn’t been so used to watching for micro changes in Sephiroth’s expression, he may have missed the understanding that flashed across his features. “Hm. I thought I would give it a try.” The General said dismissively, “At the very least, it means a reduction in general paperwork. Though I’m sure you’ll see that soon enough.”    
  
“I’m sure I will.” Genesis sounded casually unimpressed.    
  
If Cloud hadn’t had his senses trained on Genesis, he would’ve missed the small movement that served as his only warning of the man launching himself at him. With less than a second to react, Cloud moved on instinct, his sword rising to block the blow aimed for his left shoulder. When had Genesis even drawn his sword?    
  
Metal upon metal upon metal clanged as three blades met. In the resounding stillness that came after, Cloud found himself glancing at where the weapons had collided. A red rapier, his own Toothpick and Masmaune locked together to protect Cloud’s body.    
  
Evidently, Sephiroth had seen Genesis move too, and had launched himself to guard Cloud. A move that was unexpected to say the least. Then again, Cloud  _ was _ Sephiroth’s only chance of salvation. It made sense that he would want to protect him.    
  
“My patience for you has waned.” Sephiroth warned, his eyes narrowed as he watched over Cloud’s shoulder as Genesis slowly disengaged and stepped back.    
  
“Merely a test my dear.” the redhead replied, flicking his hand in a dismissive gesture as he sheathed his sword on his hip. “Your new plaything has potential, I’ll give you that much. Though the main mystery has yet to be solved.”    
  
It seemed like Genesis was going to continue, almost as if he enjoyed the sound of his own voice, but Sephiroth interrupted, stepping out of Cloud’s personal space.    
  
“Go away.” He said simply, turning from Genesis and moving further into the room.    
  
“ _ My friend, do- _ ”   
  
“Genesis!” Again, Sephiroth interrupted the man, his voice taking on a warning edge. “ _ Away _ .” He ordered and surprisingly - with little more than an affronted huff - Genesis complied.    
  
Cloud stared after him for a long moment, watching the doorway in mild confusion. “Who the fuck was that?” He questioned, more to himself than Sephiroth, but he wasn’t surprised when the other replied.    
  
“Genesis Rhapsodos. SOLDIER First Class.” There was a soft sigh and Cloud turned to face his nemesis. “The first son of the Jenova project.”    
  
“What?” Cloud blinked in incomprehension for a moment. He’d read over the Jenova project files, and couldn’t remember ever hearing about children  _ other _ than Sephiroth. “There were others?” He questioned, feeling off kilter. This could be a game changer.    
  
Not only did he have to worry about Sephiroth going off the deep end, but if there were other people that Jenova could potentially corrupt… Things just got a lot more complicated.    
  
“This isn’t the place for this conversation.” Sephiroth didn’t elaborate, simply sauntered out of the room leaving Cloud to hurry and follow.    
  
Sephiroth’s longer legs meant that Cloud had to half jog to catch up to his long strides, and eventually he met him at the elevator. “Where are we going?” He questioned, no longer asking  _ why _ he was following Sephiroth around.    
  
“Somewhere even the Turks won’t eavesdrop.”    
  
The elevator arrived and the two stepped in. Sephiroth pressed the button for the ground floor and waited in silence. Cloud followed his lead, and the ride passed without a single word between them. He followed Sephiroth out of the building and towards an adjacent one.    
  
This one had armed guards protecting it but nobody stopped Sephiroth and his companion. They simply took one look at him and opened the locked gate with a nod of greeting. Obviously Sephiroth came here a lot. Then again, who would ask  _ Sephiroth _ for ID? He was probably the most famous person on the planet at this point.    
  
The building wasn’t anywhere near as tall as the Shinra headquarters, but it was rather sizable. Cloud was led to yet another elevator and up they went. All the way to the very top - floor fifteen. Once they left the elevator, it became clear that this was an apartment building.    
  
Who were they going to visit?    
  
The top floor seemed to house only four apartments and Sephiroth led Cloud to the one furthest from the elevator but closest to the emergency stairs. It opened with a wave of Sephiroth’s keycard, and the General gestured for Cloud to follow him inside.    
  
This was completely unexpected. Of course, Cloud knew that Sephiroth obviously had to live  _ somewhere _ , but he’d never actually thought about it. Never even idly wondered about it, so the fact that Sephiroth apparently had his own apartment came as more of a shock than it should’ve been.    
  
Even  _ more _ of a shock, was the sound that greeted them when they entered into the apartment proper. Cloud had barely had the chance to look around at the sparse furnishings when he was distracted by a sound he never thought he’d hear  _ here _ .    
  
“Ah.” Sephiroth responded to the soft chirp with a small smile. “I suppose you’re hungry, hmm?” He questioned, bending down to pet the small cat that had apparently been waiting for him to come home.    
  
Cloud couldn’t help but stare at the feline. It was pure black, its bright green eyes closing as the animal tilted its head against the hand scratching behind its ears, enjoying the attention.    
  
“You.. have a cat?” Cloud questioned, once again feeling like the world was twisting beneath him.    
  
“Yes.” Sephiroth answered simply, pulling back from the cat and ignoring the sound of protest the action caused. He made his way to the small kitchen area and reached into a high shelf, somehow managing to not trip over the small creature now weaving its way between his feet. “A gift from Genesis. I suspect it was supposed to be a prank of some sort.” He answered as he retrieved the box of kibble and fed his cat.    
  
Sephiroth was feeding his cat.    
  
His cat.    
  
Sephiroth had a pet cat. That he fed. And took care of.    
  
It was at about this point that Cloud’s brain short circuited. Of all the things to have happened to him over the past few days,  _ this _ seemed the most surreal. Time travel he could get. Fine. The Planet was powerful and the lifestream had done weird things to him before. So he could buy the whole time travel thing as being a real possibility.    
  
Sephiroth asking him for help had only been surprising until Cloud remembered that Sephiorth hadn’t always been an evil, manipulative, delusional fuckwit. Once Cloud thought about the vaguely remembered man of his youth, that had easily clicked into place.    
  
But the fact that Sephiroth had a cat. A pet that was entirely at his mercy at all times. A being that relied on Sephiroth for even the most basic things and seemed to be well cared for... That… that just wasn’t sinking in.    
  
“You have a cat.” Cloud found himself repeating, staring at the small creature that was rapidly devouring the biscuits that Sephiroth had put down and completely ignoring the water that had been placed next to it.    
  
Sephiroth’s reply was to simply raise his eyebrow at Cloud, a look of amusement on his face. The General gestured to the small lounge area, bidding Cloud to take a seat on the couch. The blond did so, still reeling somewhat. “Uh… what’s its name?” He asked, eventually, realizing that his reaction  _ was _ a little strange.    
  
“Khat.”    
  
“Cat…” Cloud looked up at Sephiroth, his helmet distorting his view only a little. With a frown, he pulled the headgear off, realizing that they weren’t about to be interrupted in Sephiroth’s apartment. “You named your cat, ‘Cat’?”    
  
Sephiroth shrugged, “It seemed fitting.” He was still pottering around in the kitchen, and Cloud was wondering what he was doing. Right up until a cup of tea was placed on the small table in front of the sofa. “How much do you know about the Jenova Project?” Sephiroth asked. Down to business then.    
  
“A decent amount, since technically I was a part of it.” He answered, eyeing the tea but making no moves to reach for it. “Jenova. The Calamity that fell from the sky two thousand years ago. Shinra scientists found it in the northern crater thirty something years ago and thought it was Cetra. Shinra, the greedy son of a bitch, wanted to find the Promised Land and ordered the scientists to use Jenova to re-create the Cetra. They experimented, and you were born. Then the SOLDIER project.” That was the gist of it, right?    
  
Sephiroth nodded and sipped at his tea. “Project S was not the only branch of the experiment.” He told Cloud, “When the directive to restore the Cetra was given, there were two scientists working on different approaches. You probably know more about Project S than I do, but there was also Project G.”   
  
“And… Genesis was the result of that?” Cloud questioned, wondering why he’d never heard about this. They’d collected everything they could find of Hojo’s notes. Every scrap of paper with so much as a single line of his chicken scratch. While Cloud hadn’t read most of it himself, he was rather sure somebody would’ve mentioned something to him at some point about a second branch of the Jenova project.    
  
“Yes. Project G produced two children. Genesis Rhapsodos, and Angeal Hewely.”    
  
That name was vaguely familiar, but only in the way that Cloud knew that he didn’t know the name from his own memories. Angeal must have been someone important to Zack.    
  
“I promise you, the tea isn’t poisoned.” Sephiroth interrupted Cloud’s thoughts and gestured to the cooling mug on the table. “Though if you’re not careful, Khat will quite happily steal it from you.” He nodded down to the floor and Cloud leaned over to peer down.    
  
The black cat was looking up at him expectantly, like it was waiting for something. Cloud just stared back.    
  
“She wants you to pet her.” Sephiroth prompted but Cloud just kept staring at the animal.    
  
“Cats… usually hate me.” He admitted, slowly reaching out a cautious hand to run a finger over the animal’s head. The creature leaned into the touch and even headbutted his hand when he moved to pull away.    
  
“Domesticated animals can sense the mako in your system.” Sephiroth explained, “They see you as a monster, a predator to be afraid of.”    
  
“And… this one can’t?” Cloud questioned, running his hand down the creature’s back.    
  
“Oh, she can. She just doesn’t care.” Sephiroth made a clicking sound with his tongue and the creature darted away from Cloud to jump up onto Sephiroth’s lap, where the general fed it small portions of tea from a spoon. “She’s been in my possession since she was six weeks old.” He continued. “She has become accustomed to the mako, and unfortunately now associates it with friends rather than foes. It is perhaps a good thing that she is prohibited from leaving the apartment without me.”   
  
  
  
  
  
Watching the surreal scene before him, Cloud reached out and finally took the tea into his hands. He wasn’t much for tea, but one couldn’t spend a decade in the company of Cid Highwind and not gain at least a little taste for the stuff.    
  
“So how come I haven’t heard of Project G?” He asked, getting things back on track and voicing one of the biggest questions he had. Other than the ones about the cat.    
  
“It was considered a failure. There was no evidence of Cetra abilities amongst the two children produced by Project G, and neither of them exhibited anything to suggest they were anything other than normal humans. However, a few months after Angeal, I was born. My hair and eyes alone led them to believe that my project was the successful one. Genesis and Angeal were abandoned by Shinra and Project G was disbanded.”    
  
“Still doesn’t explain why I’ve never heard of it. We got our hands on everything we could from the science department and there was nothing about a second Jenova project. Just Project S and Reunion.”    
  
“In our original timeline, all information pertaining to Project G was destroyed.” Sephiroth let out a soft sigh and put the teacup and spoon on the small table. He settled back on the couch, his hand idly stroking the cat’s fur. “I was not the first to lose my sanity.” He remarked, a sad smirk on his face. He looked down at the animal on his lap, his hair hiding his face somewhat. “The process that gave birth to Project G was flawed.” He continued, his voice quieter than before but Cloud had no issues hearing him. “Genesis was injured and fell ill. His body was at war with the Jenova Cells within him and he began to degrade. His injury wasn’t healing as it should, and he started to age rapidly. From what I understood, his cells were unable to replicate properly.” He finally looked up, mostly managing to hide the pained expression on his face. “He was dying. He believed that Hollander - the scientist that ran Project G - would be able to help him, so he did as he asked and abandoned Shinra. He defected and took a group of SOLDIERs with him.    
  
“Hollander couldn’t help him. He was simply using this as a way to further his own research into genetic copies. Using Genesis and later Angeal, he managed to successfully transfer genetic data. With Angeal, he was able to incorporate some of Angeal’s genetic abilities into monsters and with Genesis, was with SOLDIERs.”    
  
“Clones…” Cloud stared at Sephiroth, a feeling of dread settling in. The Clones were a sensitive subject for Cloud. He had long come to terms with the fact that he was a failed Sephiroth copy, and the irony of the fact that he was the only one to survive. A few had lived after Meteorfall - those that had been unable to make their way to the Reunion - but none had survived Geostigma. None but himself.    
  
But to think that Sephiroth wasn’t the only one to have had copies made… that opened up a whole new can of worms. How many of them would be susceptible to Reunion if Jenova decided to use Genesis or Angeal as her host instead of Sephiroth?    
  
Sephiroth gave a small nod. “Thankfully we don’t have to worry about that this time around.” He reassured Cloud. “I was able to reach Genesis in time to prevent the injury that triggered his degradation.”    
  
“But won’t he still start to degrade if he gets injured later?” Cloud questioned. “He’s SOLDIER. A First. Not like he can stop himself from  _ ever _ getting injured.”   
  
“As it turns out, degradation is similar in many aspects to Geostigma. Including its cure. I was able to bring back two vials of Gospel Water with me. It wasn’t difficult to slip them the doses to prevent them from ever succumbing.”   
  
Ignoring, for now, the fact that not only was Sephiroth somehow able to bring Aerith’s magic back with him, but that he’d also apparently been back in time longer than Cloud, Cloud decided to instead focus on the fact that Sephiroth had gone out of his way to help these people.    
  
“You healed them before they even knew they were sick.” He muttered, watching Sephiroth.    
  
He had often wondered if the man had ever had any friends, or if he had been as lonely and aloof as he had always appeared to be. But now he had his answer.    
  
“Perhaps it was selfish of me.” Sephiroth admitted. “Their degradation did eventually lead to their deaths, thus ridding the world of potential Jenova hosts should she have failed with me. But… In my life, I have had very few friends. One in the labs as a child who was taken from me when I was young. Then for the longest time it was only Angeal and Genesis. At least until Zack bullied his way into my life.”    
  
That… Cloud had to admit that that was an accurate portrayal of Zack’s friendship. The man didn’t take no for an answer when it came to making friends, and anyone who didn’t love him to start with quickly learned to.    
  
“You wanted to protect your friends.” Cloud answered, seeing Sephiroth in a new light. He seemed… more human somehow.    
  
“Yes. If I, after all that I had done, was somehow granted a second chance, how could I deny them theirs? They were victims of the science department, just as we were.”    
  
“You cherish them.” It wasn’t a question. Watching how Sephiroth spoke of the other two, it was obvious.    
  
“I suppose I do.” Sephiroth agreed with a soft smile and small nod. “Though perhaps it’s best not to tell Genesis that.” He added with a vaguely teasing look. “His ego is large enough already.”    
  
It took Cloud a moment to realise that Sephiroth was joking, and when he did, the surreality of what was happening to him hit him like a tonne of bricks.    
  
He was sitting in Sephiroth’s apartment, drinking tea, and casually discussing the Jenova project while Sephiroth patted his cat. The incredulous laughter began, and then it just wouldn’t stop. It started as a chuckle, then built and built until he was doubled over, his chest aching and his eyes watering. Every time he tried to stop, it just made it worse.    
  
He could vaguely hear Sephiroth let out a soft sigh and he lifted his head enough to see Sephiroth speak down at his cat. “It seems I have broken him.” He muttered, scratching Khat’s ears, “After everything we’ve been through, it’s a simple joke that he can’t handle.” He sighed again and stood, gently placing the cat on the couch before gathering the tea cups and wandering to the small kitchen area.    
  
He returned after a moment with a glass of water, which he placed on the table in front of Cloud, who was  _ finally _ settling down.    
  
“Are you sufficiently recovered?” He questioned, retaking his seat on the chair opposite Cloud.    
  
Cloud took a deep breath, and managed to keep the laughter away. “You have a cat.” He said, “And friends. And you- you gave me  _ tea _ .” He leaned back on his seat, his eyes never leaving Sephiroth. “I keep expecting you to stab me the minute I let my guard down but instead you bring me  _ water _ and protect me from being attacked by your  _ friend _ . You have  _ friends _ .”    
  
“I don’t see how that’s so surprising. I wasn’t  _ always _ a megalomaniac…”    
  
“No. But that’s all I’ve ever known from you.” Cloud let out an exasperated sound, almost like a laugh but not quite, and wiped his hand over his face. “For nearly  _ twenty years _ , every time we’ve met it’s been a battle to the death. And now.. Now you have a  _ cat _ .”    
  
“I always had a cat.” Sephiroth muttered, looking down at said animal as if he was offended that Cloud would question her existence.    
  
“What the fuck is my life, Sephiroth?” Cloud questioned rhetorically. “I have no idea what to expect to happen next. No clue what’s even going on around me. It’s like I’ve been thrown into some alternate reality where  _ nothing _ is the same as what I know.”    
  
“Technically, you have.”    
  
“You  _ know _ what I mean!”    
  
“You require time to adjust. I understand. I had difficulties when I first returned, and I knew what was happening.” Sephiroth let out another soft sound, not quite a sigh. “The first time I saw Angeal alive and well, I burst into tears.” He admitted.    
  
Cloud just stared at him. He couldn’t imagine Sephiroth crying, at  _ all _ .    
  
“Yes, that’s about the same look he gave me.” Sephiroth chuckled, “I used the excuse of having just returned from an appointment with the science department and then got him very drunk to mitigate the damage. But he was kind about it and never brought it up again.”    
  
Cloud nodded, finally picking up the water and taking a sip. “So what happens now?” He questioned.    
  
“In what regards?”    
  
“If Genesis and Angeal can be cloned, and they’re also part of the Jenova project…” He trailed off for a moment, getting his thoughts into order. “If you succeed in resisting Jenova, won’t she just move on to one of them? What’s to stop Genesis or Angeal from being used in your place? I wouldn’t put it past Hojo to use them for his Reunion theory.”    
  
Sephiroth nodded in agreement. “Which is why I intend on explaining their origins to them.”    
  
“They don’t know?”    
  
“No. I have no idea how I’m going to tell them, while also protecting them from Jenova’s influence during the resulting emotional upheaval. I will also have to explain who and  _ what _ Jenova is, and how she is likely able to manipulate any one of us. If not all three.” Sephiroth glanced at Cloud, “Or four.” He amended, and Cloud decided to simply  _ not _ think on the possibility that he was now a potential Jenova host.    
  
“Then, of course, I would have to explain to them how I know this.” Sephiroth added. “It is a conundrum I have been unsuccessful in solving for a while.”    
  
Cloud could understand that. Sephiroth was afraid of a repeat of last time. He didn’t want to put the world in the same sort of danger. And while he would probably be able to stop either Genesis or Angeal should either one of them succumb to Jenova, Cloud had little doubt that it would break him mentally. Telling Genesis and Angeal about their births would be difficult and dangerous and had the potential to end  _ very _ badly.    
  
But not only did they need to know, in order to best equip them to resist Jenova, but they also had the  _ right _ to know. It was their history, their past.    
  
“Do you have any ideas?” Sephiroth questioned and Cloud shook his head. This was something he’d need longer to think on. And probably something that was very much boyond his expertise.    
  



	3. Loveless Materia

Sephiroth had been gone for a week. Apparently he had been sent on a mission that was more than a little above Cloud’s current clearance level, so even at Sephiroth’s request his attendance had been denied.   
  
Which was fine by Cloud. While he was anxious about what could happen in regards to Sephiroth’s mental health while they were apart, he knew that it wouldn’t take much for him to get to him if someone had to take him out. Besides, the mission was to a place somewhere in the Mideel region and nowhere near Nibelheim.   
  
Everything would be fine, right?  
  
Or at least everything would be fine if Cloud hadn’t ended up stuck with _Genesis_ as his ‘mentor’ during the time Sephiroth was away. If he had to listen to _one more_ lecture about ‘Loveless’, he was going to go off the deep end.   
  
If this was Sephiroth’s best friend, Cloud didn’t really blame him for wanting to burn a town to the ground.   
  
He let out a sigh and stared through his helmet as Genesis waxed poetically about _poetry_ , completely ignoring his presence. The man didn’t stop _talking_ about it. Was this some sort of test? To find out how resilient and pliant Cloud could be? To see how long it would take for him to break?   
  
Well, the answer was apparently a week. There were still six more days until Sephiroth was due back, and Cloud _knew_ that he couldn’t take another week of this.   
  
“Sir.” He interrupted, biting his tongue to keep his tone respectful. “With all respect… what does this have to do with my education?” He questioned.  
  
“One must learn to appreciate art in order to understand our society. Why else would we fight if not to preserve culture?”   
  
Cloud could think of a thing or two. And he held back his objections in regards to the war stamping out _another_ culture. There was little to no chance of this one being destroyed, not with how things were now. Genesis’ argument made no sense to Cloud, and he was sure it was just an excuse to continue to frustrate him.   
  
As if that was the end of the argument, Genesis turned his attention to the book in his hand and began to read aloud again, and Cloud _snapped_.   
  
“If you want to _preserve_ your art, I suggest you _stop_ before I burn the damn book!”   
  
As soon as the words left his mouth, Cloud regretted it. A deafening silence fell between them, broken only by the snap of the book closing. Cloud was sure he was in trouble. Regardless of his own past, Genesis _was_ technically his superior officer now. Which meant that he really shouldn’t have spoken out of turn like that, and Genesis was well within his rights to punish Cloud.   
  
Instead, the redhead smirked at him. “You think you can?” He challenged. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a glowing green orb. He threw it at Cloud, who caught the materia and fed power into it to identify it without thinking.   
  
Fire materia. Low level. Barely used. No growth. And… artificial? It didn’t feel natural, that was for sure. He looked down at it for a moment, puzzled. He’d heard that Shinra had attempted to produce artificial materia, but he never realized that they’d been successful.   
  
“Give me your best shot.” Genesis challenged from across the room.   
  
They were in the training room again, and Cloud wondered if the same safeties that prevented him from getting seriously injured would protect the book from magical fire attack, and how much trouble would he be in if it didn’t.   
  
“You _want_ me to burn your book?” He questioned, dutifully slipping the materia into the lone socket in his bracer.   
  
“If you can. It takes years of practice to be able to aim with that much finesse. I would be surprised if you managed to burn the book without burning _me_.” He left it unsaid that Cloud would fail this test if Genesis got so much as smoke damage.   
  
“Fine.” He muttered, testing out the materia by pushing a small amount of energy into it. It was really weak. Probably never even used. Which meant that the flame would be small, and fizzle out too soon if he sent it as a fireball. He eyed Genesis and the distance between them. At least six feet. Not easy, but doable.   
  
He only hoped that his ability over materia hadn’t been lost along with his fighting prowess.   
  
He steadily built up the energy in the materia, closing his eyes as he concentrated. Manufactured materia responded differently to natural, and it took a little more effort to control the amount of power and how quickly it built. Normally, materia would work with the caster, at least partially, but this one seemed to be resistant. Almost like a petulant child.   
  
Which made sense. Natural materia was a solidification of the knowledge within the lifestream. It occurred over many years, sometimes even milenia. Where as artificial materia was literally just compressed mako with the tiniest hint of knowledge. He would need to train it for it to be any kind of real help.   
  
But for now, it was enough. He opened his eyes to reassure himself that his target hadn’t moved. Genesis was stood exactly where he had been before, his precious book held out on top of his outstretched palm. Waiting. Cloud stared at it for a moment, mentally gathering the energy he had pushed into the magical orb attached to his wrist. He willed it, bent it to his bidding, moulded it to where he wanted it to be, then he let it go.   
  
The book in Genesis’ hand burst into flames, the bottom of which barely licked the gloved hand holding the object.   
  
Genesis stared at it for a moment, his eyebrows raising. “Impressive.” He muttered, almost to himself. “Can you put the flames out?” This time, his tone sounded curious rather than challenging, and with a little more effort than he was expecting, Cloud pinched the energy escaping the materia and extinguished the flames.   
  
This was a dangerous way of doing things. The energy was stopped from leaving the magic stone, which meant it was building up and bottling up. It would need to be let out soon, or the stone would simply explode.   
  
Knowing this, Cloud lifted his hand and waved off to his side, sending the rest of the magical fire off in a small fireball. As he’d previously predicted, it managed to get less than two feet before fizzling out, but at least the materia was no longer on its way to an overload.   
  
Genesis was regarding Cloud with unrestrained curiosity. “So you can handle your materia.” He muttered, stepping closer to Cloud who tensed in response. “Have you had experience before?”  
  
“Some.” Cloud didn’t want to lie. It was easy to be caught out on a lie, after all. But he also knew that telling anyone the extent of his experience would be a bad thing. “Never any like this though.” He popped the stone from his bracer and offered it back to the redhead.   
  
“Keep it.” He offered with a distracted wave. “Think of it as your reward for passing this test.”   
  
“I kinda hoped that my reward would be no more Loveless.” Cloud muttered, mostly to himself but with the knowledge that Genesis would be able to hear him regardless.   
  
The redhead let out a bark of laughter and shook his head. “If you learn nothing else from me, learn this. I will _never_ stop with Loveless.”   
  
\-- -- -- -- -- -- --   
  
The next few days progressed well, and thankfully Loveless free. Once Genesis had seen that Cloud could use materia, that was that. The man was apparently a well trained mage, and seemed to be excited about being able to teach someone who wasn’t a complete newbie.   
  
By the time Sephiroth came back from his mission, Cloud was actually starting to enjoy his lessons with Genesis. The two of them had appropriated the firing range in the general barracks and had spent several hours ‘training’ Cloud. Most of that time was Genesis showing off, and Cloud responding to challenges in a way that he hoped looked clumsy.   
  
In the end, Cloud had been gifted a starter set of materia, including one of each of the elements, a restore and a couple of All. Surprisingly, the All materia had been natural and when Cloud asked about it he ended up with a lesson in manufactured materia.   
  
Apparently, while Shinra had made great strides towards creating their own magic stones, there were a few that the company scientists had been unable to replicate. Mostly support, independent, and summon.   
  
“Thank the gods for that.” Cloud muttered, elaborating at Genesis’ raised eyebrows. “Last thing we need is a bunch of idiotic SOLDIERs running around with access to Ifrit or one of the Bahamuts.”   
  
Before that could spark a discussion, both of their phones went off. Cloud frowned and reached into his pocket to check the device. A message from Sephiroth, notifying him of his return and detailing the training that would resume the next morning.   
  
“Looks like you’re finally out of my hair.” Genesis muttered with a sigh that Cloud had learned to read as faked. “Until the morrow, sweet child.” He greeted, pocketing his phone and moving to leave.   
  
“But I thought the morrow was barren of promises?” Cloud couldn’t help but tease.   
  
“Hmph. So you _can_ learn.” Were Genesis’ parting words as the door closed behind him.   
  
Cloud couldn’t help but snort in amusement as he turned back to the targets across the range from him. He was very close to unlocking the next level in his materia and he wanted to get that done before leaving.   
  
It was manufactured, so it would never progress to the next spell level, but at least he could unlock more of its potential power, just in case he ever needed it.   
  
\-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --   
  
“I apologise for subjecting you to Genesis.” Sephiroth began the moment Cloud stepped into his office the next morning, as ordered. “Your situation is unique, and as you had been under my tutelage for less than a week, Lazard believed it would be beneficial to keep up your training, even if I were unable to be the one to do so.”   
  
The explanation was one that Cloud had already figured out. And really, his time with Genesis was preferable to having nothing to do, or even worse being sent back to the general infantry. His roommates gave him enough shit as it was.   
  
“Eh.” He shrugged the apology off. “It wasn’t all that bad. Once I burned his book.”   
  
Sephiroth paused over his paperwork and slowly lifted his head to regard Cloud with a look of surprised amusement. “You burned his book…” He repeated, “Which book?”   
  
“Loveless. He wouldn’t stop reading the damn thing.” Cloud grumbled, throwing himself into Sephiroth’s only guest chair. “I threatened to burn it, he made it a challenge.”   
  
“I see.” Sephiroth said slowly, still regarding Cloud. “Then I must ask for your assistance in leaving the lifestream.”   
  
“What?”   
  
“Well. I must be within the lifestream, since that was the only time I was able to openly converse with the dead. Which you must be, if you destroyed his precious book.”   
  
Ah. It was a joke. Cloud still wasn’t used to Sephiroth doing that, and he still had zero idea of how to respond. So he just shrugged. “We were in the training room. Book’s fine.”   
  
“Ah.” Sephiroth nodded. “Did you at least get him to stop?”  
  
“For the most part.” Cloud nodded, “Distracted him by letting him teach me how to handle materia.”   
  
“Surely nothing here poses a challenge for you.” Sephrioth muttered, finally turning back to his paperwork. “I seem to remember you throwing a comet or two at my head.”   
  
“Okay, one-” Cloud held up a finger in front of him, “You totally deserved that.” Sephiroth tilted his head to the side, nodding in his agreement. “And two,” Cloud continued, holding a second finger up, “All my materia was natural and you better believe your ass that I levelled that shit up myself. Manufactured materia’s a _bitch_ to work with.” He complained.   
  
“Compared to natural, it is.” Sephiroth agreed, “But it is cheaper to produce it than it would be to send enough people out to find a sufficient amount for an army. Not to mention the fact that natural materia is a lot more volatile.” As he spoke, he shuffled some papers around and then leaned back in his seat to read a rather large looking file. If Cloud hadn’t already realized that Sephiroth was adept in multitasking, he would have assumed the man wasn’t listening to him.   
  
“Huh?” He questioned. He had noticed the manufactured materia’s reluctance, but hadn’t noticed a decrease in volatility. Maybe that was just because of the good habits he’d acquired after having a few natural materia blow up in his face when he’d first started his journey all those years ago.  
  
“Manufactured materia is incapable of storing latent energy.” Sephiroth explained, eyes never leaving the report in his hands, “It can learn, if trained, but it doesn’t absorb the knowledge of the caster like natural materia does. Unlike natural materia, it doesn’t require draining, Residual energy will simply dissipate rather than explode.” He sounded slightly distracted, but before Cloud could really question it, Sephiroth put the report on the table and faced him. “Which is how Genesis was able to tell that you were holding your skill back.” He tapped on a line on the page, “Fortunately, he put that down to lack of confidence. A common issue for those new to materia usage.”  
  
“Wait,” Cloud found himself leaning forward to look at the paperwork that Sephiroth had been going through. “Is that report about me?” He questioned.   
  
“Yes.” He pushed the pages towards Cloud, offering for him to take it and read it. “Your training with him was official, thus requiring paperwork. You seem to have made an impression on him. He recommends further training with materia. He seems to think you would make an excellent mage.”   
  
“Probably.” Cloud reluctantly admitted with a half shrug. He took the pages and scanned them, but found he quickly lost interest. It was simply a report on what they had done, and a few recommendations and comments from Genesis. Nothing that Sephiroth hadn’t already told him. “I learned because I had to. End of the world and all that.” He handed the folder back to Sephiroth, finding that he didn’t want to have to force his way through Genesis’ apparently poetic style of writing.   
  
“I have another mission coming up. Nothing too spectacular.” Sephiroth told Cloud as he took the pages back. “You are to accompany me this time. You can cast a few spells and we’ll count that as training.”   
  
Cloud shrugged. He didn’t actually need any training on materia. Maybe a little more practice with the manufactured stuff wouldn’t hurt, but he was confident in his abilities with it. “Gives me a chance to level it up, I guess. Where are we going?”   
  
“The Chocobo Farm is having a problem with a new monster infestation. A few rogue wolves. I intend on having you do most of the work. It will be far more beneficial than the simulators.”   
  
“Of course you do.” Cloud sighed, but had to agree. There was only so much he could practice with fake enemies, and taking on a real threat would probably help him learn to trust his instincts a little more.   
  
“In the meantime,” Sephiroth tided up his paperwork, “I have a likely grumpy feline to retrieve. Angeal refuses to spoil her.” He handed Cloud another folder. “Your tasks for the day.” He explained before standing and leaving. “I trust you can handle this yourself?”   
  
A quick glance at the orders told Cloud that he was to patrol Sector Seven above the plate. He likely wouldn’t come across anything more dangerous than tourists.  
  
\-- -- -- -- -- -- --   
  
Patrol was _boring_. Cloud hadn’t even come across any tourists. There had been next to nobody around and the most terrifying thing he had encountered was a feral cat that had hissed at him and run away.   
  
He knew that he had to patrol, it was part of his contract and one that even working with Sephiroth hadn’t got him out of, but that didn’t mean he had to _enjoy_ it. Those six hours had been some of the longest he’d felt in a long time.   
  
So by the time he showered and returned to his room, he was in a rotten mood. He threw himself into his bunk and tried his best to ignore his roommates. Luckily, they had barely known the Cloud that had been there before this one had come back in time, so they hadn’t noticed any difference in him. Which was good - it meant fewer questions - but it also meant they had no friendly feelings towards him.   
  
Then, when he’d apparently been promoted to Sephiroth’s protege, they had begun to resent him. They couldn’t understand why _he_ of all people was chosen for that position, and he hadn’t been able to give them any answers.   
  
So for the past few weeks, he had been given the cold shoulder, ignored, or all but bullied by snarky remarks. He’d ignored them, of course, having been through much worse than anything a few infantry ingrates could throw at him.   
  
Still, it didn’t make for a relaxing atmosphere.   
  
“Leave me alone.” He muttered as one of them approached him. He was ignored, and something flew at him. Only his quick reflexes stopped the object from colliding with his head.   
  
“ _What_!?” He demanded, not in the mood to deal with them.   
  
“Package. Sleeping your way up the ranks, are you?”   
  
Rolling his eyes and ignoring the comment, Cloud looked down at the neatly wrapped package in his hand. The label noted the sender to be Genesis and Cloud frowned in confusion. What did the commander want with him?  
  
He unwrapped the package and snorted in amusement when it revealed the gift. A brand new copy of Loveless and a note. Setting the book aside, he scanned over the note.   
  
‘ _A reminder to appreciate the finer things in our culture._ _  
_ _And a weapon to irritate the great silver grump when he annoys you._ _  
_ _Enjoy._ _  
_ _-G.’_   
  
With a roll of his eyes, Cloud tucked the note inside the cover of the book and put it in his night stand. He knew that his snooping roommates would probably look for it when he was gone, but he didn’t actually care.   
  
“What?” He questioned the one still standing over him. All he received in response was a glare and the other went to his own bed.   
  
This was really tiresome. Cloud sighed and lay down on his bed, wanting nothing more than to just sleep. Unfortunately he’d trained his instincts to keep his slumber light when around people he didn’t trust, so he knew that he wouldn’t be getting much rest before his mission in the morning.   
  
Maybe it was time to look into the regulations regarding living off base. He surely had enough money saved up by now for a small place under the plate, given that he hadn’t spent much since arriving in this time. Then again, he didn’t even know how much he was getting paid. Still, it was a vague possibility. One that allowed him to relax enough to get in at least a little sleep. 

  
  
\-- -- -- -- -- -- --    
  
The next morning found Cloud awake early and irritable. Wanting as little to do with his roommates as possible, he quickly dressed and made his way to the garage where he sat to wait for Sephiroth. He knew he was super early, so he settled down against one of the walls to wait, pulling his new book from his bag as a way to pass the time.    
  
Two hours later, when Sephiroth finally arrived, Cloud was engrossed in the book. Not in the actual poem or story that came with it (no, after spending two weeks with Genesis, he was more than familiar enough with that), but with the notes in the margins. Genesis had apparently left his thoughts for Cloud to read, or in this case, decipher.    
  
He was holding the book up and at an angle, his head tilted as he tried to read the extraordinarily loopy writing. At first glance, it looked neat - at least until you attempted to  _ read _ it.   
  
“If you start to quote that, I will follow your lead and set it on fire.” Sephiroth warned as he stopped in front of Cloud.    
  
The blond ignored the threat and held the book up to Sephiroth, pointing at a single word he’d been trying to figure out for the last twenty minutes. “What the fuck does that say?” He questioned.    
  
Sephiroth raised his eyebrows in surprise but reached for the book and took it. After a moment, he too tilted the book and looked at it for a long moment. “Waylaid.” He answered before reading the entire note. “ _ The arrow in motion cannot be held back, but perhaps waylaid.”  _ He handed the book back and gestured to the truck.    
  
Without having to be told, Cloud followed him and hopped into the passenger seat. He held the book in front of him, and after having it pointed out he could see the word now. “Right.” He muttered.    
  
“Genesis often debated about the story having multiple possibilities.” Sephiroth explained as he set the truck into reverse. “He believed that that line could be where the different plotlines begin. In one, the sacrifice is that of the author. Realizing that he would have to destroy his own friend, he instead took his own life and thus was the sacrifice spoken in the next part. In the other, he killed his friend, and that was the sacrifice.”    
  
“Right.” Cloud sighed and put the book back in his bag. Honestly, he’d only been reading it as a way to pass the time. He wasn’t actually all that interested in the story itself, but he had hoped that the notes Genesis had left would help him understand Jenova’s first son.    
  
“I didn’t think you would be interested in Loveless.” Sephiroth remarked, keeping the conversation going as he pulled the truck onto the highway.    
  
“I’m not.” Cloud admitted, “But if I’m gonna help you, I’m probably gonna have to help Genesis and Angeal too. Which means I probably need to know them a bit better. I’ve never met Angeal, so this is all I have to go on.” His stomach gave a lurch and he steadfastly kept his eyes on the horizon, hoping that it wasn’t a prelude to the return of his motion sickness.   
  
“I can arrange for you to spend time with them.” Sephiroth offered, “Angeal is training Zack, so it would be easy enough to suggest a joint exercise.”    
  
Another lurch of Cloud’s stomach, but this time for an entirely different reason. He hadn’t really thought about the fact that he would have to see Zack again. The idea that Zack would have no idea who he was, was terrifying. How could he face him? Zack’s death had been because of him,  _ for _ him, and Cloud had repaid him by  _ forgetting he existed _ . Some living legacy he turned out to be.    
  
“I-” He didn’t know how to explain that to Sephiroth. He didn’t want to see Zack, not yet. He wasn’t mentally ready for that. Wasn’t sure he ever would be. But to admit that? To  _ Sephiroth _ of all people?    
  
“As far as I am able to ascertain, Zack has no memory of our previous lifetime.” Sephiroth said in what was apparently supposed to be reassurance. Maybe a warning. “You would have to act as if you have never met him. As will I. It will be difficult, but I believe he would be invaluable to have on our side.”   
  
There was something in his tone that made Cloud frown in thought. “You think he could help you resist Jenova?” He questioned.    
  
“He was very nearly successful the last time.” Sephiroth admitted. “Had I have been in a better mental state to begin with, or had Genesis not interfered, he may well have prevented the incident. If not everything.”    
  
That was news to Cloud. He stared at the horizon while trying to gather his thoughts, trying to remember the Nibelheim incident with more clarity. He had never managed to get all those memories back, and he hadn't even been  _ aware _ that Genesis had been there.    
  
“I… don’t remember it very well.” He finally admitted. “Hojo’s experiments fucked with my mind. I thought I knew everything I needed to, but I had no idea Genesis was there.”    
  
Sephiroth nodded in understanding. “Perhaps we need to discuss it.” He suggested, his voice slightly tight. “Though I think we are woefully lacking in the alcohol we might require.”    
  
Cloud snorted in amused agreement. Reliving Nibelheim to tell the story to AVALANCHE had been hard enough, and that was when he had thought himself to be Zack. He had no idea how he would feel trying to talk about it now, to  _ Sephiroth _ , and he could only imagine that it would be the same for the General.    
  
“After the mission.” Sephiroth continued, “We shall discuss our shared history and ensure that we are working on the same page.”   
  
“Yeah.” As much as he didn’t want to, Cloud knew that they  _ had _ to talk about it. Had to make sure that they were both working off of the same information if they were going to come up with a solution.  
  
\-----  
  
BONUS ART  
Cory saw how much you guys all liked Khat, so he decided to make some bonus art!  
  
  



	4. Farm Boy

Cloud’s motion sickness returned with a  _ vengeance _ . Enough so that the beginning of their mission was delayed by a full four hours while he recovered from the long car journey. Sephiroth had been less than impressed and more than a little confused. Having never really interacted with Cloud before Hojo’s experiments, he hadn’t been aware that Cloud used to (and apparently still did) suffer from motion sickness, and once he’d realized that Cloud had apparently grown out of it, his confusion had morphed to amusement at Cloud’s pain.    
  
Grumpy and irritated, Cloud had followed Sephiroth’s orders to dispatch the rogue monsters without complaint, wanting nothing more than to be allowed to just  _ lay down _ . The mission itself didn’t take long, but Sephiroth had somehow managed to convince HQ that staying put for the night and returning the next day would be beneficial. The official line was to make sure that more threats didn’t come to the farm.    
  
That was all bullshit, but Cloud appreciated the chance to recover fully enough to not press on the issue. If Sephiroth wanted to lie to the higher ups for Cloud’s benefit, who was he to complain?    
  
Chocobo Bill had been gracious enough to let them stay, but their little farm house didn’t really have the room to house them. Which left them with two options. The thin, Shinra issued tents, or the barns.    
  
Almost as soon as the options had been given to them, Cloud began to make his way to the barn. Sure, it would smell bad - Chocobos always did - but it would be warmer and safer. They wouldn’t even need to have a watch rotation. And really, it didn’t take long to get used to the smell.    
  
But the moment they left the house, Sephiroth began in the other direction. With a frown, Cloud watched him for a moment before running to catch up (damn his tiny legs). “Hey,” He called after him. “The barn is warmer, and safer.” He pointed out.    
  
“And full of chocobos.” Sephiroth continued walking, not even sparing Cloud one glance.    
  
Cloud paused for a moment before hurrying to catch up to Sephiroth again. “And?” He questioned, “They’re not exactly hostile, and you get used to the smell.”    
  
Sephiroth hesitated as they reached the truck. His movements paused only a tiny amount, but Cloud had spent long enough studying his every movement to notice. “What?” He questioned, frowning.    
  
Sephiroth shook his head and reached into the vehicle, rifling through the equipment permanently stored in the back. “I’m not overly… fond of sharing my sleeping space with creatures.” He explained, and Cloud  _ knew _ he was holding something back.    
  
Whatever. Cloud didn’t actually care. He just shrugged and reached into the truck behind Sephiroth, pulling out a sleeping bag and other night time essentials. “Sleep out here if you want.” He told the general. “But  _ I _ for one value safety and warmth over being alone for the night.”    
  
He didn’t look back as he carried his burden to the stables, finding a nice spot in the back away from the chocobos. They  _ weren’t _ hostile, but they  _ could _ get awfully clingy. There had been more than one night that he’d woke up with a mouth full of feathers and a vaguely bald patch of hair. The feathers he could deal with - unpleasant but quickly resolved - but losing hair due to the excessive grooming from chocobos took a lot longer to deal with.    
  
Out of habit, once he had set his sleeping area for the night he double checked that the chocobos were properly secured in their stables and had enough feed and water to last them the night. He was gently soothing one of the younger ones to sleep when Billy wandered in.    
  
“You the shinra folk that grandpa let stay?” He questioned, watching Cloud with a curious eye.    
  
Cloud simply nodded, knowing that if he moved too far away from the happy chocobo right now, it would complain loudly and likely wake its fellows. “Yep.” He chanced a glance over his shoulder, intending on giving the youth a reassuring smile. Instead, he found himself looking for a little longer than he had expected.    
  
It shouldn't have been a surprise that Billy was younger than he remembered, but he hadn’t been expecting him to be  _ this _ young. It always seemed to sneak up on him, the fact that he had gone so far back in time.    
  
In his time, he still found himself visiting the stables a lot. Often enough to be well acquainted with the inhabitants of the farm. He knew Billy quite well and had basically watched him grow up over the last decade. So it was a bit of a shock to see a prepubescent boy in front of him, instead of the young man he knew.    
  
A loud ‘wark’ beside him brought him out of his surprise, and he returned his attention to the adolescent chocobo. “When was the last time he was run?” He questioned, brushing down the feathers with his hand.    
  
“Been a few days.” Billy admitted, “He hates the saddle, so grandpa won’t let me ride him, and grandpa says he’s too old to run him every day.”    
  
Cloud grimaced. A chocobo this young needed to be run at  _ least  _ once a day, if not twice. “Want me to take him out?” He offered, “I’ve got experience with wild chocobos. Don’t need a saddle.”    
  
Billy blinked at him for a moment, considering. “Sure.” He said finally with a shrug. “Not like we can’t get compensation if you don’t come back.” He added.    
  
Well, he had a point. Still, Cloud couldn’t help but laugh and nod. “I’ll leave the General here as collateral.” He joked, “I’m sure he’s worth more than a chocobo.”    
  
Billy looked like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or not. Still, he gave a nervous smile and let Cloud into the stable.    
  
The moment he was inside, the young chocobo was all over him, excitedly warking and nuzzling him. It was hard to get around him, but Cloud managed, laughing at the bird’s antics.    
  
“Yeah yeah.” He chuckled, expertly climbing on the bird’s back.    
  
Normally, if the chocobo was properly saddled, he would’ve led it outside by the reins before mounting, but without the help of the lead, he knew he would’ve struggled. This was just easier.    
  
As he left the stable, he passed Sephiroth. The general actually  _ jumped _ out of Cloud’s way, clutching his sleeping bag to his chest as he stared at the bird between Cloud’s legs.    
  
“You okay?” Cloud questioned, not sure whether to be amused or worried. Was Sephiroth  _ afraid _ of chocobos?    
  
Luckily, it didn’t seem so. The General relaxed and nodded, still eyeing the bird wearily. “Where are we sleeping?” He questioned.    
  
“In the back.” Cloud gestured to the stables, “Can’t miss it. I’ll be back in an hour or two.” He gave the chocobo a gentle pat on the head, noticing how the bird was staring at Sephiroth. There was something going on there, something that sparked a hint of curiosity in Cloud, but he let it go for now.    
  
It had been too long since he had last rode, and he was looking forward to it just as much as the Chocobo.    
  
When Sephiroth gave a nod of acknowledgement, Cloud adjusted his position upon his steed and began to walk the bird.   
  
\-- -- -- -- -- -- --    
  
Time got away from Cloud. The thrill of running for the sake of it, of riding a chocobo as fast as it could comfortably go (and sometimes a little faster for short stretches) had Cloud losing track of time completely. When he got back to the stables, four hours had passed, and Sephiroth was standing outside watching him.    
  
Given the flat nature of the plains they were on, and the fact that Cloud had stayed reasonably close to the farm meant that Sephiroth had probably been able to see him for most of the time that he’d been out - which was probably a good thing since he had been gone for twice as long as he’d expected. He’d only really run down to the coast and back, but he hadn’t exactly travelled in a straight line, but he knew that Sephiroth’s heightened sight could see a  _ lot _ further than that of an average person.    
  
He jumped off the bird the moment they were close to the stables, deciding to walk the animal inside rather than ride it in. He gave Sephiroth a nod as he passed to put the bird back in its stable and give it a good rub down.    
  
He knew how to take care of chocobos, so by the time Billy wandered in to take care of the bird, Cloud was already half way through the post run routine.    
  
“You know what you’re doing.” The young man remarked, and Cloud nodded, not stopping in his task. Honestly, he probably enjoyed the motions just as much as the chocobo.    
  
“I used to breed them.” He told the child. “Had to know how to look after them.”    
  
He finished up with the chore, again checking that the bird had enough food and water - it would need more than usual after that run - and left the stable. Almost as soon as he was gone, the chocobo settled down into sleep.    
  
“When did you breed chocobos?” Sephiroth questioned idly as Cloud joined him in their small corner.    
  
Cloud snorted in amusement and picked his way to his sleeping bag to settle himself down. “Just before Meteorfall.” He told him, “Heard rumours of a wickedly powerful materia that only a gold could reach. Ran into a chocobo sage and figured it out from him.” He clambered into his sleeping bag before stripping down. Less about embarrassment, and more to do with the night chill that was settling in.    
  
“Did you find it?”    
  
“Remember that summon with all the knights?”    
  
“Vividly.” Sephiroth remarked dryly. Cloud had used that on Sephiroth more than once in the end.    
  
Letting out a huff of laughter at Sephiroth’s tone, Cloud finally finished struggling out of his clothes and looked up at Sephiroth, only to stop short as he took in the sight before him.    
  
Sephiroth was naked from the waste up, kneeling comfortably and casually braiding his hair. He seemed to sense Cloud looking at him and their eyes met. The general simply shrugged. “Have you ever attempted to sleep with long hair?” He questioned. Cloud shook his head. “Braiding it keeps me from becoming tangled in it.” Sephiroth explained.    
  
“Ah.” That kind of made sense. Still, Cloud couldn’t help but snicker at the sight before him. “So you make it all pretty to sleep. Want me to put some flowers in it?” He teased, “I can make you a crown if you want.”    
  
Sephiroth rolled his eyes and shook his head, fingers working diligently in his hair. “It’s  _ practical _ .”    
  
“Right.” Cloud gave a nod of agreement, but was unable to keep a straight face. “More practical than a simple tail, right? Or a bun? Oh! Have you tried pigtails? I’ve heard they’re  _ very  _ effective in keeping your hair out of your face.” He didn’t even try to hide the teasing tone in his voice, or the laugh that came from the exasperated huff Sephiroth gave him.    
  
He started to giggle a little as the mental image of Sephiroth in pigtails assaulted his mind. His laughter only intensified when a sharp sting to his shoulder told him that Sephiroth had flicked his hair tie at him.    
  
“My hair gets tangled if I wear it in a tail.” The general explained, “And there is far too much of it to comfortably wear in a bun. Pigtails,” He glared at Cloud, “Are for  _ children _ .”    
  
Cloud’s laughter rang out through the quiet of the barn, and he struggled to reign it in in an effort to not wake the birds around them. “You were a child once.” He pointed out, “Did you have pigtails?” When Sephiroth refused to answer, Cloud had no chance of stopping his next fit of laughter.    
  
“Are you quite finished?” Sephiroth asked with a sigh, tying his now complete braid off with a second hair tie.    
  
“Nope.” Cloud chuckled, “Gonna be laughing at that one for a while.” His laughter had settled a little. “Does Genesis know you used to wear pigtails?”    
  
“Do  _ not _ tell him that.” Sephiroth all but ordered, his tone very grave. Which only led Cloud into laughing again.    
  
“You  _ did _ !” That was almost an admission, and it was probably as close as he could expect to get. “Oh my gods. You used to wear pigtails.” His laughter was now officially giggles, and he found himself doubling over thanks to the mental image. “Were they high on your head, or down by your ears?” He questioned, “Did you use little bows?” He gestured to the sides of his own head, miming playing with hair bows.    
  
Sephiroth sighed, clearly irritated. “Get some sleep.” He ordered, laying down and turning his back on the still snickering Cloud.    
  
\-- -- -- -- --    
  
The next morning came with a symphony of sounds that only Chocobos could make. Cloud blinked the sleep out of his eyes as he sat up and yawned. It was probably earlier than he was expected to be awake, but there was no way he could sleep through the racket that the chocobos were making. He was somewhat used to it, having spent many nights and morning surrounded by the creatures.    
  
There was movement near him, and Sephiroth rose, looking a lot less okay with the interrupted sleep. He blinked and looked around, eyes narrowing into an irritated glare as the birds continued to make various sounds. Cloud chuckled at the disgruntled look on his face, and only smoked when the scowl was directed at him.    
  
“You’re a lot less terrifying when your hair’s a mess.” Cloud pointed out, stretching again.    
  
Sephiroth’s eyes flicked up to the top of Cloud’s head, and then the general held still for a moment. “You have…” He trailed off and gestured.    
  
“Hmm?” Confused, Cloud reached up to where Sephiroth was pointing. His fingers found his hair and then… feathers? A little more prodding and a soft chirp above him made him realize what it was that Sephiroth had seen. With a soft chuckle, he reached up with both hands and carefully retrieved the small chick that had somehow nested in his hair. “Hello.” His greeting was returned with a small chirp.    
  
Carefully, Cloud cradled the tiny bird. It had to be newly hatched - it still had some of its shell clinging to the feathers on its crown. Carefully, Cloud peeled the sticky shell off the bird and smoothed down the feathers. “Which one’s your momma?” He questioned quietly, lifting the bird to check it over, plucking a few stray shards of egg shell from its body.    
  
He stood, still cleaning the chick and padded his way towards the other birds. It would be pretty obvious which bird was the mother by the way they reacted to the chick, so Cloud kept his eyes open for a telltale response. It didn’t take long, there were only five birds in the stables after all, and Cloud quickly returned the chick to his parent. “There’s a good boy.” He muttered, patting it on the head again before returning to his ‘camp’.    
  
“You mock me for wearing pigtails as a child, and yet you have no embarrassment walking around dressed like that?” Sephiroth questioned, an eyebrow raised as he looked at Cloud.   
  
  
  
“Huh?” Cloud looked down at himself and shrugged. Honestly, he’d worn worse than a pair of chocobo print boxers and a singlet. Sure, the shorts were very childish - they had probably been made for children - but they were warm and comfortable. He shuffled his way to his clothes and dressed - more because of the chill in the air than the comments Sephiroth was probably coming up with. “You’re forgetting,” He said, smirking as he slipped his helmet on, “I’m not as scary as you. Nobody’s gonna be surprised to hear I wear chocobo boxers.”    
  
“You are  _ far _ more terrifying than I am.” Sephiroth countered.    
  
“Nah.” Cloud disareed. “We’re the only people who know how good I actually am.” He pointed out, “To everybody else, I’m that tiny infantryman that you randomly decided to kidnap.”    
  
“I didn’t kidnap you.” Sephiroth frowned in confusion and Cloud chuckled and shook his head.    
  
“Figure of speech.” He brushed the joke off, not wanting to have to explain it. He stretched and started to pack up. “Lets get this over with.” He muttered, not looking forward to the return trip to Midgar. “Don’t suppose you’ll let me take a chocobo and meet you there?” He questioned.    
  
“Chocobos are fast, but they won’t keep up with the truck.” Sephiroth pointed out, “You would get left behind.”    
  
Cloud snorted and shook his head, “In this terrain?” He questioned, “A chocobo will beat a truck any day.”    
  
Sephiroth raised his eyebrow and shook his head. “I disagree.”    
  
“Then I guess there’s only one way to find out,” Cloud grinned, “For science, of course.” He threw in, hoping that would manipulate Sephiroth into agreeing with him.    
  
Honestly, the idea of riding all the way back to Midgar was only a little more appealing than riding in the truck. While the chocobo would reduce the amount of motion sickness, his thighs were still burning from his run the night before. And it was a  _ lot _ further to Midgar than the coast.    
  
It wouldn’t be an easy ride - apparently this body wasn’t used to the motions any more - but it would be less vomit inducing.    
  
Sephiroth sighed, “To Kalm.” He amended. “I doubt it would be seen as professional for us to return separately without need, given that I am supposed to be supervising and training you.”    
  
Cloud didn’t really care if they looked professional or not. Honestly, working for Shinra was just a means to an end at this point, and if he got fired the only annoying part would be having to find a new reason to stay close to Sephiroth. But, he had to agree with Sephiroth at least in part. It would be easier if they kept their cover with the fewer questions asked the better.    
  
“Fine. To Kalm.” He agreed, shoving his sleeping bag back into its bag with practiced ease. He gathered everything else up into his pack and stood. “You get to take the equipment back though.” He warned, throwing the bag at Sephiroth who caught it with ease and a raised eyebrow. “Gotta get my bird ready.” Cloud explained with a grin before bounding off in search of Billy. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, thank you so much for all support - comments and kudos - on this fic. I feel amazed whenever I see a new email. Thank you!
> 
> Just letting you guys know that I may be slow to write any more. Earlier this week, my grandfather returned to the Planet. I'm taking care of myself and my family first and foremost, but want to assure everyone that I'm not abandoning this fic. I just might take a little while.
> 
> Please do join our discord if you want to keep up with us. We also post sneak peaks for the discord.


	5. Kalm Magic

By the time Sephiroth arrived in Kalm, Cloud had already rubbed down his chocobo and was waiting with a self-satisfied smirk in front of the Inn. The moment the general climbed out of the Shinra standard truck, Cloud was feeling mighty proud of himself - and not at all motion sick.    
  
“Told you so.” He couldn’t help but gloat as Sephiroth stared at him incredulously.    
  
“ _ How _ ?” He questioned, “I set off before you.” He closed the truck door and approached Cloud, who handed him the coffee he’d ordered for him. It was almost cold now. “I should have at least seen you pass me.”    
  
The fact that Sephiroth had been looking out for him told Cloud that he’d at least thought that Cloud beating him was a possibility.    
  
“Would’ve. If I’d have gone the same route.” Cloud shrugged, still grinning. “Went over the mountains.”    
  
“Chocobos can’t climb mountains.” Sephiroth pointed out.    
  
“ _ Most _ can’t. But when we were at the Farm I saw one that could.” He gestured to the stables near the edge of the town. From here they could both just make out the head of a young black chocobo. “His name is Teioh. Fastest chocobo I’ve ever come across. Or he will be, when he’s fully grown. Hell of a racer.”    
  
Sephiroth was staring at Cloud with an expression that Cloud couldn’t quite identify. Was Sephiroth sore for having lost their impromptu race? The thought just made Cloud’s grin wider.    
  
After a long moment, Sephiroth let out a sigh and took a sip of his coffee, barely managing to suppress a grimace at the temperature. “We have another mission.” He told Cloud, “More Kalm Fangs, I’m afraid.” He gestured to the road leaving the town, “Between here and the wastes. The local mayor is afraid they’re wandering too close to the town.”   
  
  
  
Cloud shrugged. A few fangs shouldn’t be too hard. He hadn’t had any trouble with the ones near the farm. Sephiroth had said it was because he had been distracted by his motion sickness, but Cloud disagreed. This would be his chance to show Sephiroth that he didn’t need to be  _ distracted _ to fight effectively.    
  
He pushed himself away from the wall that he’d been leaning against while waiting for Sephiroth to arrive and rolled his shoulder to loosen the muscle. “Which way?” He questioned.    
  
“That’s the problem. Their movements seem erratic. The mayor was unable to pinpoint their location.”    
  
“Great.” Cloud sighed. That meant that a quick and easy mission could take  _ hours _ . “If they’re close enough to bother the town, it shouldn’t take too long to find them.”    
  
“ _ Theoretically _ .” Sephiroth agreed, giving the cup in his hand a look of distaste, as if he was debating on whether or not he should drink the rest.    
  
“Would’ve been hot if you’d’ve got here when I did.” Cloud couldn’t help but rub his ‘victory’ in Sephiroth’s face again. “So where do we start?” He questioned.    
  
“Simple search pattern.”    
  
With that Sephiroth pulled out his phone and produced a map of the local area. After less than five minutes, they had a plan and were ready to go - Sephiroth’s take away cup firmly thrown in the nearest bin.    
  
\-- -- -- -- -- --    
  
“Well then….” Cloud looked at the monsters in front of him, keeping his eyes on them as they slowly approached. “So much for easy.” He muttered.    
  
“Afraid of a little challenge?” Sephiroth teased, his own eyes never leaving their foes as he drew his sword. “Surely even a behemoth shouldn’t pose a problem to you.”    
  
“If I were at full power, no.” Cloud had to admit that he wasn’t entirely up to scratch. Against Kalm Fangs, he would’ve been fine, but there, nestled within the pack was a fully grown behemoth. “What’s it doing here, anyway?”    
  
“It’s possible that it escaped from one of the labs.” Sephiroth warned and Cloud grimaced. That would mean a more powerful, more erratic enemy. Possibly driven mad by Hojo or mako treatments.    
  
“Great. Just great.” He muttered.    
  
Luckily, none of the monsters seemed to have noticed them, which gave them the opportunity to plan. Normally, Cloud would have just thrown himself into the fray, trusting in his abilities to get him out alive. Now, however…    
  
“I’ll take the Fangs.” He told Sephiroth, “I’ll lure them away. You take out the behemoth.” He ordered, falling back into leader mode. Even after twelve years, his team still followed his commands without thought when it came to combat and it was easy for him to return to old habits.    
  
After a moment, Sephiroth gave a small nod and Cloud took off.    
  
With purposefully loud and aggressive movements he rushed towards the pack, veering off course at the last minute. He was counting on the fangs being faster than the behemoth and catching up to him first, giving Sephiroth time to intervene and cut the larger beast off from the chase. He couldn’t look back to make sure that the general was doing his part - to do so would risk tripping on the rough terrain or slowing down - so he had to trust him to have his back.    
  
It was a lot easier than it should have been.    
  
It had only been a handful of weeks since Cloud had come face to face with a sane Sephiroth. Less than a month for Cloud to come to terms with the fact that the man didn’t want to kill him, wasn’t trying to end the world. Less than a month to undo almost two decades worth of mental conditioning.   
  
He was still expecting the other shoe to drop. For Sephiroth to return to the madman mentality that Cloud had known. For him to turn on him with no notice and engage in their usual dance of taunt and blade. It was a possibility that Cloud had to prepare for - to  _ stay _ prepared for. Something that he  _ knew _ was more than likely to happen.    
  
So why was it so damn easy to trust him to watch his back? Why was he able to give a command that essentially put Cloud at his mercy? It would be so easy for Sephiroth to set Cloud up to fail here. To simply not engage the behemoth, to leave Cloud to a battle that would be dangerous in his current state.    
  
Yet Cloud knew that he wouldn’t. He  _ trusted _ Sephiroth to do his job, and to protect his six. He  _ knew _ that Sephiroth wouldn’t let him down.    
  
Why was it so easy for Cloud to put his trust in Sephiroth?    
  
And why had last night been the best sleep he’d had in  _ weeks _ ? Why was he suddenly comfortable around Sephiroth? Why did it feel like they were old friends? Why did it feel  _ right _ ?   
  
“Cloud. I believe it’s already dead...”    
  
Cloud was jerked from his thoughts by Sephiroth’s voice. Startled, he shook his head to clear it and looked around. Sephiroth was right, the fang he was currently casting (another?) Fira spell on was well and truly dead - along with the rest of his pack.    
  
“Right.” He let the spell go - it was easier than restraining it - and stood up straight and stretched, eyeing the area. The behemoth lay a few hundred feet away, its body already starting to dissipate into the lifestream. The battle was over.    
  
Had he blanked the whole thing? He looked down at his sword, ready to clean it, only to notice that it didn’t have any blood on it. With a frown, he looked at the wolf bodies surrounding him and saw the aftermath of magic but no cuts from a blade.    
  
“Are you injured?” Sephiroth sounded genuinely concerned, and Cloud realized that he wasn’t exactly acting like himself. This was a different kind of quiet to his usual. But how did Sephiroth  _ know _ that? How did he seem to know him so well?   
  
“No.” He answered distractedly, still looking at the monsters on the ground. There was evidence of fire, ice, lighting. One even had a leg stuck in the ground, telling him that a quake spell had been used.    
  
Except… Cloud didn’t have any materia equipped.    
  
Ignoring Sephiroth for the moment (and how was that so  _ easy _ ?), Cloud double checked his equipment. Only his bracer had space for materia - two single slots and both were empty. The few orbs he had collected were still sitting in his pack - back in Kalm.    
  
But obviously he’d used magic. He had felt that final fire spell, even if he’d blanked for the rest.    
  
“Sephiroth…” He spoke quietly, his mind trying to figure out what was happening, “Is it possible for people to use magic without materia?”    
  
“Rarely.” Sephiroth answered, watching Cloud weirily. “A very small number of people have limit breaks that mimic magic.”    
  
That… hadn’t been a limit break. Cloud had learned more than a dozen limit breaks since he’d begun fighting, but none of them had mimicked magic. Blade Beam had been close - but that had just been a magical enhancement to his attack. Not an elemental spell.    
  
Sephiroth was looking at him strangely, and Cloud was off kilter enough for that to bother him. He shook his head and decided to think about it later. “Nevermind.” He muttered, putting his sword back onto its harness. “We should head back to town or it’ll be late by the time we get back to Midgar.”    
  
Sephiroth gave a nod of agreement, but didn’t take his eyes off Cloud as they walked silently back to town.    
  
\-- -- -- -- -- --    
  
By the time they made it back to town, it was late evening. Cloud looked up to the sky and sighed. Motion sickness was always worse at night. At least during the day he could keep his eyes on the horizon to mitigate some of the symptoms. It wasn’t so easy at night.    
  
Sephiroth snapped his phone closed and led them towards the inn. “We’ll stay here for the night.” He told Cloud, who wasn’t in any mood to argue. He simply followed the general into the inn.    
  
Out of habit, he took the bed closest to the door and sat down. He took his bracer off and checked it over. It wasn’t like he was going to find some random elemental materia tucked away, but he felt the need to check it anyway. Nope. It was empty. Next, he double checked his sword - which didn’t even  _ have _ materia slots - just to make sure.    
  
After that, he emptied his pockets onto the bed. A few ration bars, his phone, a receipt for the breakfast he’d had before leaving Midgar, but no materia. With a frown, he stripped down to his underwear. He didn’t think it was possible to hide materia in clothing (surely he would’ve heard of such things) but he wasn’t about to put that sort of thing past Shinra’s science department. He had to check.    
  
So he stood by his bed, wearing only his chocobo print boxers (he’d even taken his socks off this time) wondering how he was going to test the slowly developing theory that was scratching at the back of his mind.    
  
He needed something none-offensive. Something that wouldn’t cause damage to the inn room. He could think of a few spells off the top of his head, but there was one that would be obvious if it worked.    
  
He grabbed his sword and slowly made a small cut on the back of his arm. If his theory didn’t pan out, it wouldn’t get in the way, and it was small enough to heal fully before morning anyway.    
  
“What are you doing?” Sephiroth asked from across the room, his suspicious tone hiding a hint of worry.    
  
Cloud just held up his hand to quiet Sephiroth, not wanting to try to explain things. If it didn’t work, he would have a hard time, but if it did he would be vindicated.    
  
Working on what felt like muscle memory, Cloud turned his hand to his arm and cast a low level Cure spell, watching with wide eyes as his skin knit itself back together under a magical green fog.    
  
Swallowing, he took a breath and repeated his previous actions twice. Just to be sure.    
  
“I’m not quite sure this is what Genesis had in mind when he suggested you train with materia.” Sephiroth remarked, still watching Cloud.    
  
Well, Cloud supposed, it had to look a little strange. He was acting very oddly indeed. Stripping near naked, cutting himself open and then repeatedly healing himself. But he had to be sure.    
  
“This is weird.” He muttered.    
  
“Yes.” Sephiroth agreed. “Care to explain?”    
  
“I don’t have any materia.” Cloud told him, repeating his previous actions. “I haven’t had any equipped since we left Midgar.” He added, watching his skin heal again.    
  
The repeated action had left a small red line - his low level cure not being enough to heal the skin perfectly so many times. But it was still working. Exactly how it would, had he been using a restore.    
  
There was movement and Sephiroth was suddenly beside him. He grabbed Cloud’s arm and held it in front of his face, looking it over. “Interesting.” He muttered, “You can cast without the need for materia?” He questioned, lifting Cloud’s arm in an awkward way to look more closely at the newly healed skin.    
  
“Apparently.” Cloud snatched his arm back, feeling more than a little uncomfortable with how close Sephiroth was. Or rather, feeling uncomfortable at how  _ not _ uncomfortable it was.    
  
“You killed those wolves without materia?” Sephiroth seemed to understand that he’d crossed some kind of boundary and took a step away from Cloud, but continued to regard him with curiosity. Mutely, Cloud nodded. “And you were unaware of this ability before today?” Again, Cloud nodded. “Interesting…”    
  
“Creepy.” Cloud corrected. He put his sword down and sat down heavily on his bed. “The only things I’ve seen use magic without materia is monsters.” He pointed out, looking down at the red line on his newly healed arm.    
  
Even Aerith hadn’t been able to do that outside of limit breaks. Not until after she had died.    
  
“Maybe… it’s because I’ve been in the lifestream so much.” He pondered out loud.    
  
“If that were the case, then I would be able to do so also.” Sephiroth pointed out, taking a seat on his bed, facing Cloud.    
  
“Have you tried?”    
  
“No.” They fell quiet for a moment, this new possibility setting in. “Perhaps… this is something we should test.” After that thought, Sephiroth raised his hand ready to cast. He raised his eyebrows at Cloud’s instinctual flinch (at least a  _ part _ of him was still weary about Sephiroth), and made a small motion.    
  
A shimmer of light surrounded Sephiroth as a barrier activated and Cloud had to admit that that was probably a less destructive way of testing things. “No materia equipped?”    
  
“My Barrier materia is in my office desk.”    
  
“Back in Midgar.” It wasn’t a question, but Sephiroth nodded in answer anyway.    
  
Cloud looked out the window. It was early evening. Too late to return to Midgar before nightfall, but not too late to head outside of town. He stood and reached for his clothes, putting his uniform back on. “C’mon.” He ordered once his boots were on and his sword in the harness on his back. “Lets go test this out.”    
  
\-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --    
  
They were out until nightfall throwing spells at each other until they were both too mentally drained to continue. Without further testing, Cloud couldn’t be sure, but it seemed like it was actually  _ easier _ to cast without materia. The mental drain was reduced, and the spells were faster and stronger - and they did exactly what they wanted them to do.    
  
Though it did seem like there was a limit. Cloud hadn’t been able to cast a water spell, even after Sephiroth had shown him that it was possible. Sephiroth’s theory was that it was because Cloud had never cast one with materia. Which seemed to hold up.    
  
While they weren’t keen to try the more powerful spells, Cloud had come across a few in his journey that Sephiroth had never used, and he had been unable to cast those. Neither was he able to cast summons.    
  
Cloud had only tried with ChocoboMog, but the creatures had appeared by his command, and unlike usual they hadn’t just attacked and moved on. Instead, they had stayed by his side ready for battle for a few minutes before disappearing.    
  
“This could be incredibly useful.” Sephiroth remarked as they once again made their way to their room. Both were exhausted but curious. This was something that they had both thought to be impossible, yet they were both able to do it.    
  
“I wonder if anyone else can do it.” Cloud once again stripped to his boxers and flopped on his bed, turning on to his side to watch Sephiroth meticulously braid his hair again.    
  
“It seems unlikely.” Sephiroth shot him a look, as if daring Cloud to tease him about his hair again, but Cloud was far too tired for that. Plus, now he knew that Sephiroth could set him on fire with a wave of his hand. Even when half naked. “I’m sure the science department has looked into this as a possibility. I know for a fact that I was unable to do it as a child - it was one of Hojo’s great disappointments that I could not spontaneously cast.”    
  
Cloud hummed in agreement, hardily able to muster up the energy for words.    
  
“Rest for now.” Sephiroth ordered, “Once we return to Midgar, I will search the library for any mentions of this skill.”    
  
“Nope.” Cloud objected, finding his voice for this, “In my experience, you and libraries don’t mix.”    
  
Sephiroth chuckled, finishing off his braid and throwing his hair over his shoulder. “Come now. Would you really complain if I were to burn down Shinra tower?”    
  
“‘S long as you stop there.” Cloud said around a yawn, “Guess not.”    
  
“Sleep.”    
  
Loathe as he was to follow Sephiroth’s orders, Cloud found that he didn't have much of a choice. If it hadn’t been for his prevailing exhaustion, and the fact that he was intimately aware of how it felt, Cloud might have thought Sephiroth had used a sleepel spell on him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I haven't forgotten about this fic. Real life is being a bit hectic at the moment, so I'm a little slow on things. The next chapter has a little written, and my brain is bombarding me with ideas, so rest assured this fic isn't forgotten. 
> 
> In saying that, I go for surgery tomorrow morning (in about 15 hours from time of posting), and I don't know when I'll be able to write again. 
> 
> If the medication effects me too much, I might just go with my secondary plan of writing shorts about Khat. Would anybody want to read about what Khat gets up to? I have a few ideas for this, and writing it while my mind is on medication will probably result in something rather crack like.... 
> 
> For real time updates and an insight into my mind and how it (fails to) works, please feel free to join the discord. Just be aware that it is sometimes NSFW, and is not spoiler free (though there is a specific section where we try to keep all talk about Remake, so you don't accidentally stumble on a spoiler).


	6. A Less than Purrfect Afternoon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so first I must apologise for how long it's taken me to get this posted. I've had a hell of a few months and things got bad for a long time with both my physical and mental health. I want to make sure that everybody knows that I'm not giving up on this fic, and I still have a lot of ideas. 
> 
> I've not been able to write much lately, but I've tried my hand at the art thing. So feel free to check out the bonus art in the second part of this series.

The return trip to Midgar was almost as tortuous as their initial trip out, but at least this time Cloud knew what to expect. He made a mental note to look into motion sickness remedies to bring on future trips, and wondered which ones would work with the mako in his blood. It had been so long since he’d had to deal with it, that he’d almost completely forgotten how.   
  
As they reached the Shinra Complex, Cloud groaned in relief, glad that their journey was almost over. The moment Sephiroth pulled them to a stop he all but launched himself out of the truck and bent over double, trying to dispel the queasy feeling in his gut.    
  
“You may take the rest of the day off.” Sephiroth told him, circling the vehicle to join Cloud. “I will report to Lazard. Come to my apartment this evening. I will let the guards know to expect you.”    
  
Cloud nodded in agreement, though he wasn’t really paying a whole lot of attention to Sephiroth’s words. By the time he was feeling well enough to stand up properly, the general was gone and a couple of Infantrymen were unpacking the truck. Unsure of what else to do, Cloud helped the men unpack and return the standard gear before leaving for the barracks. If nothing else, he wanted a shower.    
  
Since it was mid morning, most of the Infantry were at their posts and the shower room was blessedly empty. So was his bunk room. Normally, he would take this as an opportunity to catch up on some sleep - he never slept well with his bunkmates around - but he was surprisingly well rested.    
  
He tried not to think about the implications of sleeping better near Sephiroth than in a room full of infantrymen. Thinking about how much he apparently trusted Sephiroth even in an unconscious state gave him headaches and mild anxiety.    
  
So, with nothing else to do for the day, Cloud figured he had nothing better to do than to seek out whatever the commissary tried to pass as food. It was never good, but it was better than nothing - and it was free. His pay checks had been somewhat lacking lately - apparently he was still on the infantry pay grade, and was considered on ‘stand by’ to boot.    
  
While he didn’t really have much else to spend his earnings on, the meager sum he had gained in his time here would barely cover any emergency, and he was eventually going to need a decent sword. Especially if he was ever going to go against Sephiroth.    
  
He sighed as he entered the elevator, mourning his Fusion Blade for a moment. That had been a nice sword. Handy in almost all situations. But since it was made from the corpses of fallen WEAPONs, it was unlikely that he would ever get another one like it.    
  
Hopefully his time here would mean that the WEAPONs would remain dormant to fight another day. The last thing he wanted was to have to fight Gaia’s last line of defense again.    
  
\-- -- -- -- -- -- --   
  
As it turned out, Cloud wasn’t very good with inactivity. Being told that he had the rest of the day off was all well and fine, but there was only so long he could entertain himself without going stir crazy. By mid afternoon, he was at a loss of what to do, and he needed to do  _ something _ .    
  
So, with little else to do, he decided that it was now his given right to bug Sephiroth. He refused to entertain the idea that he legitimately enjoyed the general’s company, and had instead convinced himself that he was merely trying to needle the other man into losing his cool and show his true nature.    
  
It was an admittedly flimsy excuse, but it was one that Cloud made a supreme effort in believing.    
  
The trudge up to Sephiroth’s office somehow felt shorter than usual. Probably because Cloud was busy trying to convince himself that Sephiroth was still his enemy and three weeks in the past wasn’t going to change that in a hurry. By the time he reached Sephiroth’s office, he had managed to convince himself to agree to disagree - which was an incredibly surreal stance to have in regards to his own thoughts. Luckily, Cloud was very good at ignoring his own thoughts and feelings.   
  
Sephiroth briefly looked up from his paperwork when Cloud walked in, but otherwise didn’t pay him much attention until he was done with his current file. When that was placed on the smallest pile on his desk, the general lifted his head to regard Cloud. “Yes?” He questioned.    
  
Cloud shrugged and threw himself into the only other seat in Sephiroth’s office. “Bored.” He admitted. In all his internal arguing, he hadn’t actually thought of what he would  _ say _ once he arrived.    
  
“How is that my problem?” Sephiroth questioned with a raised eyebrow. “Unless you’re volunteering to assist with my paperwork.” Was there a hint of hope in Sephiroth’s voice? There probably wasn’t, but Cloud liked to think there was. Especially when he shot him down instantly.    
  
“Fuck off.” He shook his head, “Don’t think I’m allowed to, even if I wanted to.”    
  
“For you, I am willing to bend some rules.” Sephiroth responded with a sigh. He reached into his desk draw and produced a keycard. “Here. You may as well keep Khat company then.”    
  
Cloud took the card and looked down at it. It was vaguely similar to the ones he had used to sneak into Shinra Tower once upon a time, and he could tell with a glance that it would grant him access to the highest levels. He was pretty sure he wasn’t supposed to have this.    
  
“Sure. Why not.” He shrugged and pocketed the card.    
  
“Feel free to snoop.” Sephiroth added, and Cloud paused with a frown, wondering why the man would say that.    
  
“Why would I…?”    
  
“At least a part of you still believes us to be enemies.” Sephiroth pointed out, his head still buried in the page he was working on now, “It would be naive to believe that you  _ wouldn’t _ pry at least a little. At least with my permission you don’t need to feel like you have to hide what you’ve been doing.”    
  
That made a weird amount of sense. And really, Cloud probably  _ would _ take at least a cursory look around. It would be stupid not to - they  _ were _ still enemies, after all. “Right… Let the guards know to let me in?” He requested, not wanting to bother to have to fight or sneak his way in.   
  
Sephiroth just nodded and gave him a dismissive wave as he typed into his phone. Not needing anything else, Cloud just left the office.    
  
\-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --    
  
Finding Sephiroth’s apartment would have been easy enough, even if he hadn’t already been there, so it didn’t take long for Cloud to reach the gates. True to his word, Sephiroth had alerted the guards to Cloud’s arrival, and after a quick check of his company ID, Cloud was let into the building.    
  
Once he was actually  _ inside _ Sephiroth’s apartment, Cloud faltered. He had been given permission to look around and investigate, but he didn’t actually know where to  _ start _ . That was more Vincent’s thing than his. Still, it seemed like a waste not to. Maybe the bedroom would be a good start. Wasn’t that where people kept the more important, secretive things?   
  
He was distracted by a soft chirp by his feet. Khat was sat staring up at him, her large green eyes fixed on his. They stood there for a moment, both staring at each other as if waiting for the other to move. Eventually, Khat looked away and Cloud felt oddly smug about it - as if he had just won some unspoken competition.    
  
“Uh. Hi.” He greeted the animal. People talked to cats, right? That was what they were supposed to do? Awkwardly, he squatted in front of her and reached out, a tentative finger gently stroking the top of her head.    
  
She chirped at him again and tilted her head into the touch. Cloud had to admit that it was oddly adorable. He gave a small chuckle and sat down, crossing his legs and watching the animal.    
  
His hands were resting over his knees and after a moment, Khat wandered up to him and headbutted his left hand insistantly until he turned it to gently pat her head. Her purrs made him smile and he tried to think back to the last time he had interacted with an animal like this.    
  
Aside from his last trip to this apartment, he couldn’t clearly remember a time that animals hadn’t shied away from him. This was a strange and unique opportunity and Cloud found that he didn’t want to squander it.    
  
It didn’t take long for the cat to fully warm up to him. After only a few minutes, Cloud found himself happily petting the cat that had decided his lap was the best bed in the world. He was sure that the neighbours would be able to hear her purring, given how loud it was, and every time he tried to pull away, she would reach out for his hand and forcefully place it back on her stomach for more belly rubs.   
  
  
  
All in all, it was one of the cutest things that Cloud had ever encountered - second only to baby chocobos - and apparently a very easy way to lose track of time.    
  
When he heard the door behind him open, his senses told him that it was only Sephiroth, so he didn’t bother to move. Not like Khat would have let him any way, she was still enjoying the attention far too much.    
  
“I see you didn’t make it far.” Sephiroth remarked, humour clear in his voice.    
  
“I’ve been taken hostage.” Cloud admitted, still grinning down at the dark fluffball vibrating in his lap. “She wont let me go.”    
  
“I assure you, you will get bored of it long before she does.” Sephiroth moved around Cloud and turned on the electric kettle. “Tea?” He offered.    
  
“Sure.” Cloud shrugged, remaining where he was sitting, still fully enthralled by the creature.    
  
Nothing more was said until the tea was made. Sephiroth took it to the lounge and placed it on the coffee table before taking his own seat. He looked over his own cup with an amused smirk. “Perhaps we were both wrong.” He remarked.    
  
“Huh?” Cloud questioned, finally lifting his head to look at Sephiroth.    
  
“You believe me to be the most terrifying creature on the planet, and I believe that of you. And yet-” He gestured to Cloud’s lap, “We are both brought to our knees by a five pound ball of fur.”    
  
“And purrs.” Cloud added, completely seriously, “It’s the purring.”    
  
“Yes.” Sephiroth’s smile and small chuckle told Cloud that he was in complete agreement. “Though you are aware that she will be just as comfortable on your lap in a chair, as she would be on the floor.”    
  
Cloud shrugged, not really caring. But now that Sephiroth had mentioned it, he was becoming aware of the numb feeling in his rear and adjusted himself so he was holding Khat to his chest so that he could maneuver them both onto the couch. Silence fell in the room, interrupted only by Khat’s loud purrs. Cloud had absolutely no idea what to say - which wasn’t all that surprising. Honestly, it was more what Cloud would have expected, rather than the apparently easy conversations they had had until this point.    
  
After a long moment, Sephiroth leaned back in his seat with a soft sigh - causing Khat’s ears to twitch a little before she ignored her master.    
  
“Though I believe neither of us want to, it is perhaps prudent to discuss the events of the Nibelheim Incident.” He began and Cloud felt himself shrink back on the sofa.    
  
Sephiroth was absolutely right. Cloud had no interest whatsoever of discussing that night. But it had to be done. They needed to make sure they both had all the information available, otherwise there was little chance of them working together to come up with a viable solution to their problem.    
  
“You promised alcohol.” Cloud pointed out, and Sephiroth nodded.    
  
“In the cupboard above the refrigerator.” He gestured to the appliance in question. “Feel free to take what you would like.”    
  
Cloud hesitated, looking down at the animal in his lap for a second before gently picking her up and placing her on a cushion. She looked up at him with wide eyes before adjusting her position and laying back down. That was easier than he had expected.    
  
He made his way to the kitchen and looked up at the cupboard in question. “Really?” He questioned quietly with an exhale. The cupboard was too high up for him to reasonably reach. He could open it, yes, but there was absolutely no way he would be able to reach anything  _ inside _ . “Fine.” He muttered to himself, grabbing a nearby chair to stand on. There was no way he was asking Sephiroth for help just because he was  _ short _ .   
  
He was reaching in the cupboard to see what was available when several things happened simultaneously.    
  
First, the front door swung open and two people strolled inside. Second, there was a weight suddenly on Cloud’s back and several sharp points digging into his skin, the new weight causing Cloud to shift in surprise. Third, Cloud’s movement caused the chair to fall from underneath him.    
  
The next thing Cloud knew, he was lying on his back, a random bottle of alcohol in his hand and a very proud looking cat cleaning herself on his chest. “Got it.” He muttered, slightly winded. He glared at the cat, now realizing that she was what had caused him to fall. “Oi.” He admonished her, gently flicking her on the forehead - to which she responded with a purr.    
  
“Sephiroth dear,” A voice from another part of the room spoke, and Cloud recognised it as Genesis instantly. “Why is there an infantryman stealing your alcohol?”    
  
“‘M not stealing!” Cloud objected with a sigh, still staring at the cat. “Are you done?” He questioned, batting at her side until she jumped off him with an affronted huff. “Ow.” He picked himself up off the floor and looked around to survey the damage. Nothing broken but his pride.    
  
“Oh, if it isn’t little Cloudy.” Genesis seemed to recognise him, now that he wasn’t on the floor. His remark made Cloud regret keeping his helmet on, since it meant his glare didn’t have any effect on the SOLDIER.    
  
“Genesis.” He greeted, placing the bottle of alcohol on the bench and stretching to dissipate the vague ache in his back. SOLDIER enhancements or not, he was still (mostly) human, and landing flat on his back was never a good thing.    
  
“How have you been?” Why was Genesis being nice to him? Cloud just stared at him for a long moment, trying to figure out if the man actually cared for an answer, or if this was just one of those social things that everybody but him seemed to get.    
  
“He just got bested by a cat.” Sephirtoh pointed out with a quiet chuckle, “How do you  _ think _ he is?”    
  
“Be nice.” The third man in the room spoke. He looked vaguely familiar to Cloud, but the memories of the man were fuzzy enough to tell him that they weren’t his own. This must be someone that had been close to Zack then. The man turned to Cloud and offered his hand. “I’m Angeal.” He introduced himself.    
  
“Cloud.” Cloud took the hand and shook it from habit, trying not to show too much emotion.    
  
The name Angeal had resonated within him, causing his chest to ache with a deep grief that wasn’t his own. He could remember a few of Zack’s stories about the man, about how honourable and upstanding he had been before Genesis had led him astray. He couldn’t remember how the story ended. Maybe Zack had never told him.    
  
He also had vague recollections of being thrown against something solid while this man walked away, but other than that, and him being cold at the time, he had nothing else to go on. Maybe he had met him once?   
  
Genesis made a tutting sound as he inspected the bottle that Cloud had placed on the bench. “You were going to get our little cadet here drunk without even offering him food?” He questioned Sephiroth, “My dear, just  _ what  _ was your plan for him?”   
  
Cloud could tell that Sephiroth had no idea what Genesis was hinting at, but Cloud knew all too well. He rolled his eyes and decided not to comment, instead deciding to simply observe the interaction between Sephiroth and his closest friend. He took his seat on the couch and reached for his rapidly cooling tea.   
  
“Why are you here, Genesis?” Sephiroth asked with a small roll of his eyes.    
  
“You were sent on a half day mission and didn’t return for three days.” Genesis remarked, throwing himself on the couch beside Cloud. There was just enough room on the other side of him for Angeal to perch - which he did. “ _ Excuse _ me for being a tad worried.”    
  
“We ran into some minor issues. Nothing to concern you.”    
  
“How long have we been friends, Sephiroth?” Genesis asked with a shake of his head, “Ten years?”    
  
“Twelve.” Sephiroth corrected him, a small frown between his eyes telling Cloud that he had no idea where the man was going with this.    
  
“Twelve.” Genesis seemed genuinely surprised at that, but recovered quickly, “Well then, you’ve had twelve years to learn, and yet you still do not understand that friends are  _ supposed _ to worry?”    
  
It sounded like ridicule, like Genesis was mocking Sephiroth for his ineptitude, but as Cloud watched and studied the faces of the men around him, he realized that it wasn’t. That Genesis was legitimately reassuring Sephiroth in his own way, and teaching him about friendship. Cloud had to wonder how long this subtle teaching had been going on, and how long it had taken Genesis to figure out his technique.    
  
It seemed to work too, because Sephiroth relaxed and shrugged. “Cloud fell ill.” He told them, “And he did not wish for it to reflect poorly on his performance. So we remained at the Chocobo Farm until he recovered enough to complete the mission.”    
  
All eyes fell on Cloud and he felt himself once again shrink back into the furniture. Damn Sephiroth, placing the blame entirely on his (deserving) shoulders. “I get motion sick.” He told them, “Forgot how bad it could be.”    
  
“With the way Sephiroth drives, I’m not surprised.” Angeal remarked, looking closely at Cloud for another minute, as if to assure himself that Cloud was fine now. “Try chewing on ginger root next time.” He offered and Cloud nodded.    
  
“Did you get any magic training in?” Genesis questioned. His eyes were trained on his phone, but it was obvious who he was asking.    
  
“Some.” Cloud answered, feeling a little out of place with everyone paying attention to  _ him _ . Even the cat had apparently felt left out, since she had somehow found her way back onto his lap.    
  
“Master any more?” Genesis continued, and Cloud calmed himself by running his fingers through Khat’s fur.   
  
“Not yet.”   
  
Genesis let out a loud, irritated sigh. “Come now Cloud, it shouldn’t take so long to master a few basic matera!”    
  
“The artificial stuff sucks!” He spluttered in protest. It wasn’t like he was  _ bad _ with materia. He had mastered more than a fifty in his time! Not that Genesis would know that.    
  
Genesis rolled his eyes and finally pocketed his phone. He pulled a green orb from his pocket and threw it at Cloud - who caught it easily. “No more excuses.” Genesis told him, pointing his finger at Cloud as if he was scolding a child. “That should take you no more than a week.”    
  
Cloud glanced at the barrier materia in his hand. It was about half way levelled, and he could probably master it in an afternoon or two if he really wanted to.    
  
“Genesis.” Sephiroth was watching them, vaguely amused, “Do you wish to take over his mentorship?” He questioned, eyebrows raised in challenge.    
  
“Fuck no.” Genesis replied instantly, earning a dirty look from Angeal. It seemed the calmer man didn’t take kindly to cussing. Cloud made a mental note to try to tone it down around him.    
  
“Then shut the hell up.”    
  
Genesis responded to Sephiroth with two raised hands in surrender. “He has  _ potential _ , Seph.” He pleaded, “You can’t let that go to waste. Goddess knows we could do with more proficient casters.”    
  
“I will ensure that his training is complete.” Sephiroth assured Genesis. “Should I require it, I will come to you for advice.”    
  
“See that you do.” Genesis gave a nod before turning his attention to the cat sleeping peacefully on Cloud’s lap. “What have you  _ done _ to that thing?” He questioned.    
  
“Thing?” Cloud looked down at Khat, his fingers still idly stroking through her fur. “What do you mean?”    
  
“Khat  _ hates _ people.” Genesis reached out to pet the cat, who woke up and backed away, batting his hand away. “See?”    
  
Angeal chuckled, “She just doesn’t like  _ you _ .” He pointed out, leaning over the redhead to ruffle the cat’s fur. She just gave him an affronted look and snuggled closer to Cloud.    
  
“I dunno.” Cloud answered Genesis. “She just likes me.” That… seemed to irritate Genesis, who half glared at Cloud. The blond just shrugged. “I should… probably get back to the barracks.” He muttered, feeling a little uncomfortable with the number of people around him. Especially Angeal. For some reason, being around him made him feel like his nerves were on fire - anxiety building within him. Maybe it was the conflicting memories? Or the fact that he was close to Zack. Cloud didn’t know, and he didn’t particularly want to find out. Curfew gave him a good excuse to leave.    
  
“Nonsense. I’ve already ordered food. You’ll stay and eat.” Genesis objected, backing away from Cloud and Khat to rest against the back of the sofa.    
  
“Uh-” Cloud had no idea what to make of that. Why was Genesis buying him food? Or was this one of those situations where Cloud was expected to pay him back for it? Didn’t that usually warrant a discussion? It wasn’t like Cloud couldn’t  _ afford _ to pay him back, but that seemed like something that he should’ve been asked first?    
  
But it sounded like Genesis had ordered food for everyone? What was the protocall with that?    
  
“There’s a curfew-” He tried to object, to which Genesis just waved a hand.    
  
“I’ll write you a note.” He offered condescending. “We’ll call it a mission debrief or something.” He didn’t seem to care one way or another, and Cloud realized that he was probably going to be stuck there for dinner if he didn’t find a way out soon.    
  
“Besides,” Genesis continued, looking at the bottle on the kitchen bench, “It looks like you were planning on sticking around for a while anyway.”    
  
“You can go.” Cloud had never before been so happy to be dismissed by Sephiroth. He looked up at the general who waved him off. “We will continue our discussion another time.”    
  
Cloud nodded in thanks, standing and depositing the cat onto Sephiroth’s lap before quickly making his way out of the room, thankful that Sephiroth had apparently understood his social anxiety. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone that has been leaving comments, kudos, and joining our discord. It means a lot to me and has been helping me keep going. I'm just happy that people are reading my stuff and I'm not just throwing it into the void. I love getting feedback, so thank you :)


	7. Spill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Cloud gets some this chapter, and it's not with Sephiroth. No details are given though. Smut gets skipped :)

“Spill.” The command came from an increasingly familiar voice as Genesis plopped himself down at the table across from Cloud.    
  
It was first thing in the morning - once again Cloud found that he hadn’t slept well in his dorm, and was contemplating just how much black coffee he could get away with drinking before people started to wonder about his biology when he was interrupted from his thoughts.    
  
He looked up at the Crimson Commander with a puzzled expression before turning his eyes towards his oh so precious beverage, wondering why the man wanted him to make a mess. “Huh?”

  
  


  
  
“Not the coffee,” Genesis said with a dramatic sigh, draping himself across the back of his uncomfortable cafeteria seat. “I’ve never seen Sephiroth act like that around new people.” He explained, watching Cloud with a critical eye. “It took  _ years _ for him to relax around Angeal and I, yet he does so with you. After only a few weeks.” He leaned forward, bracing himself on the table, forcing Cloud to scoop up his mug lest the man upend it with his movements. “So,” Genesis looked Cloud directly in the eye, “Spill. What did you do to him?”    
  
“Huh?” It was far too early in the morning to deal with Genesis. Especially without warning. Cloud’s brain was foggy and he hadn’t had nearly enough sleep for this.    
  
“Are you sleeping with him or something?”    
  
“What?” Cloud stared at Genesis for a moment, the man’s words taking an age to set in. When they did, Cloud couldn’t help but laugh. “Seriously?” He questioned. “Do I  _ look _ like someone who’s getting regular dick?” It may not have been the most socially appropriate way to speak to his commanding officer, but Cloud had decided that today was a give no fucks day.    
  
“ _ I _ wouldn’t know what you’re like with, or without, ‘regular dick’.” Genesis pointed out, “Nor would I know that about Sephiroth. But it does seem like the most obvious explanation for him being so… friendly.”    
  
Still highly amused, Cloud shook his head. “No.” He told Genesis. “I’m  _ not _ sleeping with Sephiroth.”    
  
And wasn’t that just a strange notion. Honestly, Cloud couldn’t say he hadn’t thought about it. A  _ lot _ of his pubescent dreams had featured Sephiroth, but that was before he had met the man. Before Sephiroth had gone insane. Before Jenova. Before Nibelheim, Meteorfall, Advent Day. Just.  _ Before _ .    
  
And honestly, yeah, he had had those thoughts since then too in the dead of night. No matter how insane or evil he believed Sephiroth to be, the man  _ was _ stunning.    
  
“Though I suppose,” The Crimson Commander leaned forward again, encroaching into Cloud’s personal space. “It would be interesting to see what you  _ are _ like afterwards.” Genesis spoke with a curious purr in his voice. “Perhaps it would... mellow you out a little.”    
  
“Are you hitting on me?” Cloud asked, narrowing his eyes at Genesis. It was unfortunate that his helmet hid his expression from the other man. Cloud wasn’t exactly oblivious to such things - it had happened a  _ lot _ since Rufus decided to tell the world all the details regarding Meteorfall. Cloud had been thrust into fame almost over night, and more than one person had tried their luck. Most had been unsuccessful, but not all of them. But in that time, and with all that experience, Cloud had learned that it was best to be  _ sure _ that that was what was going on.   
  
“That, my dear,” Genesis had a small smirk on his face as he watched Cloud’s reaction. “Depends entirely on your response.”    
  
“You know I’m fifteen, right?” Cloud double checked.    
  
“Once you are accepted into the military, you are considered a full and legal adult with all the rights and responsibilities that that entails. You are perfectly capable of making your own choices in life, and in sexuality.”    
  
That was true. That was one of the big draws that Shinra had used to enlist child soldiers during the war when they were running low on expendable grunts. From the age of fourteen, anyone was eligible to join the military and instantly become a full fledged legal adult, regardless of the laws of their homes. Cloud hadn’t really thought about the sexual aspect of that, and as a man in his mid thirties, the idea of someone as young as fourteen being able to legally consent to much older people turned his stomach. He couldn’t help but think of Marlene and Denzel when they had been that age, and just how much more growing up they had had left to do.    
  
Back when he’d really been fifteen, Cloud hadn’t had anything more than a passing curiosity about sex. He hadn’t really felt the need or desire for it until long after Meteorfall. Though his teenage years were somewhat atypical, given that he hadn’t experienced half of them. Even then, his views towards sex were a little different to most.   
  
Cloud hadn’t been shy about his sexuality in a  _ long _ time. Not since he first approached Vincet not long after advent day. To him, sex had always been about release and physical pleasure, so he had never felt the need to be embarrassed about it. Though he supposed as a once again fifteen year old, he should probably  _ act _ like he was.    
  
…   
  
…   
  
Screw that. He wanted to get laid. Genesis was annoying as hell at times, but he wasn’t bad looking, and he seemed to be the generous lover type.   
  
“What the hell.” Cloud agreed with a shrug, “People already think I’m sleeping my way to the top. Might as well get laid out of the deal. But-” He lifted his hand to stop Genesis from interrupting, wanting to make sure he was crystal clear about a few things. “I have rules.”    
  
Genesis made a gesture for him to continue, making it clear that he was listening intently.    
  
“Helmet stays on.” He could call it a fetish, or a wish for true anonymity. Cloud didn’t care what excuse came of it, he just knew that there was no way he wanted Genesis to see the telltale glow in his eyes. Genesis just raised an eyebrow in surprise and curiosity as he gave a small nod, but Cloud continued before he could ask. “Condoms are non-optional.” Another nod of agreement, “This stays casual. No sleeping over, no mornings after. Sex and that’s all.” Genesis seemed amenable to that. “And you top.”   
  
“I can agree to all of that.” Genesis said with a shrug, leaning back in his seat casually. “I’ll even allow you time to finish your gods awful coffee.”    
  
“Oh-” Cloud added as an afterthought, “An we use your place. I don’t fancy being watched.” He added, reminding Genesis that he had roommates.    
  
“Reasonable.” Genesis shrugged as Cloud sipped at his coffee. “And when would you like to do this?”    
  
Cloud looked down at his cup and drained the last of the liquid. “Now.” It had been a  _ long _ time since he had last got any, after all. One might even say a lifetime.   
  
\-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --    
  
Things with Genesis weren’t nearly as awkward as Cloud had expected. True to their deal, it was kept completely casual and all of Cloud’s rules were followed. It was somewhat vanilla, but it definitely helped relax him.    
  
As Cloud had expected, Genesis was an exceptionally giving lover, and it had taken him a little while to convince the man to be a little more rough with him. It didn’t surprise Cloud, given that Genesis believed him to be unenhanced, but it had irked him to be treated like he would break.    
  
He was in a better mood for the rest of the day. He hit the gym for a few hours, and had even managed to sneak his way into the SOLDIER training room. It had taken him a while to figure out the controls, but once he had, he put himself through his paces.    
  
He was fully aware that the room was likely monitored. Or at the very least bugged. So he made sure to keep his activities to the level that people would expect from him and made an effort to make sure not to show off. He’d been at it for a few hours before someone finally interrupted him - which he had expected somewhat sooner to be honest.    
  
“Today is your scheduled day off.” Sephiroth’s voice didn’t startle Cloud, and he was able to keep his focus as he took on yet another pack of Kalm Fangs. He went through his motions, more than capable of multitasking.    
  
“Yep.” He agreed, slicing through one of the canines and jumping back to avoid another.    
  
“It is expected that on your day off you indulge in leisure activities, as opposed to further training.”    
  
“Yep. I did.” Cloud agreed, finishing off the last of the fangs and pausing the simulation. “I am.” He added, finally turning to see Sephiroth casually leaning against the training room wall. “I can’t stand having nothing to do.” He took the water bottle that the general offered to him and moved to stand next to him, letting the wall shoulder most of his weight.    
  
“You’re not supposed to be in here without supervision.”    
  
“Nope.” Cloud agreed before draining half the water. “But it’s easier to sneak in here than it is to go out hunting.”    
  
“I suppose it would be.” Sephiroth agreed.   
  
“You need the room?” Cloud questioned, wondering why Sephiroth would join him otherwise.    
  
“I was intending on training, yes.” Sephiroth agreed, pushing himself off the wall. “But seeing as that is also what you desire, I have a better idea.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and scrolled through it for a moment. “There is a low level mission available in the wastes to control monster population. It’s a standard mission generally given to novice Thirds.” His phone let out a beep as he selected something. “I have just assigned it to myself. You will come along.”    
  
Cloud shrugged, finishing off the water and following as Sephiroth left. Not the way he had expected to spend his evening, but he couldn’t complain. He hadn’t realized just how trapped he could feel until his ability to freely leave the city was taken from him. As a member of the military, he was expected to remain within Midgar’s walls unless on a mission or on leave. Midgar is a big enough city that on paper that sounded fine, but Cloud missed the open air that Midgar was sorely lacking.    
  
They made their way to the parking garage without conversation, neither feeling the need to fill the comfortable silence. Once they arrived in the vehicle bay, Sephiroth turned to Cloud. “Does your motion sickness affect you if you are the one in control of the vehicle?” He questioned.    
  
“Not nearly as bad.” Cloud admitted. “Pretty much ignorable if I’m the one driving.”    
  
Sephiroth nodded once and threw a set of keys at Cloud before climbing in the passenger side.    
  
\-- -- -- -- -- -- --    
  
They spent perhaps a lot longer than they should have hunting wild monsters. There weren’t all that many around - the monster clean up mission was done often enough that it really was just to maintain levels rather than reduce them. Still, it was nice to get out of the city for a while, and neither man seemed to have a pressing need to return. It wasn’t until the sun started to set that Cloud suggested they return. He had a curfew, after all.    
  
All in all, it was a somewhat nice day. He’d got laid, worked out, trained for a while, and got some materialess magic practice in. For the first time since coming back in time, Cloud could easily claim that he had, in fact, had a nice day. He wondered how many more of those he would be able to have before shit hit the fan and it was time to get things done.    
  
“You have a mission tomorrow.” Sephiroth told Cloud as they pulled back into the parking lot. Cloud shut off the engine and turned to face Sephiroth, wondering why the man hadn’t said anything before. He looked somewhat nervous, which instantly sent Cloud into a vague paranoia.    
  
“Okay…” He prompted, wondering if Sephiroth was going to say anything to explain his sudden inability to sit perfectly still.   
  
“Angeal believes that a joint training between you and his pupil would be beneficial to the both of you. He thinks that working with a SOLDIER Second will show you what is expected within the program and perhaps push you to work hard.”   
  
That made sense, and Cloud could agree that it was probably a sound idea, given the information that Angeal has about him. Still, that didn’t explain why Sephrioth was almost  _ fidgeting _ . “Sephiroth. Get to the point you don’t want to make.” He all but ordered, managing to keep his emotions from his voice.    
  
“His student is Zack Fair.”    
  
Ah.    
  
Sephirtoh was worried that Cloud wouldn’t be able to work with Zack, that his past and his memories and fondness for a man who had never met him might get in the way of critical thinking. Or maybe he was worried that Cloud would give something away. It was unlikely that a training mission like that would be unmonitored.    
  
They were valid worries. Ones that Cloud shared too. Though he did appreciate the heads up. “Right.” He nodded, taking a moment to keep himself calm. The idea of working with a Zack that didn’t know him was somewhat daunting. “Thanks for the warning.”    
  
Sephiroth nodded and exited the vehicle, having said everything he felt he needed to.    
  
\-- -- -- -- -- -- --    
  
Cloud didn’t sleep at  _ all _ . He never slept well in his bunks, he’d come to expect that, but last night was his worst sleep yet. He didn’t even get an hour without tossing and turning, anxiety and doubt clinging to his every thought.    
  
He knew that the Zack he was about to meet wouldn’t be the same one that he’d left behind in the wastes. He was younger, and there was no shared history between them. As far as Cloud knew, Zack had never met him before, and this was supposed to be the first time for them both. This Zack hadn’t been through the horrors that the one from his time had, hadn’t seen the worst in Shinra, in SOLDIER. He hadn’t been jaded by time and experience. This Zack was going to be different.    
  
And Cloud knew that he had to act like he had never met Zack. He had to act like he was a complete stranger, and start again from scratch, when all he wanted to do was drag the man into a tight embrace and  _ never _ let go. To thank him profusely, to apologise until his throat was raw. He wanted to break down and tell Zack everything that had happened to him, how he had adopted the stories he had told Cloud into pseudo memories. He wanted to thank him for giving him a facade to hide behind and apologise for doing so. He wanted to talk to Zack, just to be able to talk to him. He wanted to just be with Zack.    
  
But this wasn’t his Zack. This was someone else entirely, and Cloud had to remind himself of that. Had to remind himself that this boy wasn’t his hero. Wasn’t the man who had sacrificed all for him.    
  
He was just a boy.    
  
By the time morning came around, Cloud was nauseated from the torrent of emotions that had barraged him over night. He was exhausted from his lack of sleep, and wanted nothing more than to just get this day over with.    
  
No details of the mission had been forwarded to him, save for a time and location to meet up. He made sure to stop and get coffee and a token breakfast before making his way to the vehicle bay, where he hoped he would get his mission parameters.    
  
Hopefully, this would be a quick and easy mission. He wasn’t sure if he could deal with prolonged exposure to Zack. Not yet. Not on this little sleep. Not when his emotions were so all over the place. He had to make sure to keep himself together enough not to spill his every secret to the man. Or to be caught just staring.    
  
When he arrived, he noticed that Angeal and Sephiroth were both there, waiting. Zack was nowhere in sight, and Cloud wondered if he was running late. He couldn’t remember clearly, but he had a feeling that it was somewhat common for Zack to arrive exactly on time, or even a minute or two late, usually panting for breath from his run to be on time.    
  
Still, it gave Cloud enough time to enjoy his coffee.    
  
“I would suggest against caffeine.” Sephiroth warned.    
  
Or not.    
  
With a sigh, he dropped the almost full drink into a nearby trash can and turned to Sephiroth, hoping the man could feel his glare since he couldn’t see it from behind his helmet. He folded his arms in protest and leaned against the nearest truck, watching as Sephiroth bid his goodbye to Angeal and left. So it was Angeal who was going to give the debrief. Fine. Cloud pushed away the strange feelings the man seemed to fill him with and turned his attention to him.   
  
Angeal seemed amused. At least  _ one _ of them was aware of Cloud’s distaste for having to throw out his only chance of being fully awake.    
  
“Your mission today is to return to Midgar.” Angeal told him. “You, along with my student, will be deposited somewhere on this continent. It’s up to the two of you to figure out where you are, and find the most efficient way to get back to the city in the least amount of time. You can keep your PHS units on your persons, but if either you or your partner use it, it will be considered a mission failure. This exercise is to test your problem solving, endurance, and teamwork. There may be times that you are in the field and need to return without the use of a cell phone. You will be monitored, but if I need to intervene in any way, it will be considered a mission failure. Do not count on me.    
  
“To ensure that you aren’t able to follow the same route back to the city, you will be put under a sleepel spell until we arrive at the destination. There, you will be cured of the ailment and the mission will begin immediately. Do you understand?”    
  
Cloud nodded. It seemed pretty straight forward. Figure out where they were and get back to Midgar. Nothing challenging. Especially if they were only going to drop them on this continent. Cloud was rather sure that he would be able to figure out where he was in minutes. Though he would probably have to pretend not to.    
  
He climbed in the back of the truck indicated to him. It was a standard transport that had the two benches along the sides for troops to sit -or in this case, sleep. Zack was already out cold on one side, and Cloud did his best not to notice him as he climbed on to the other bench. He was strapped in and the cold feeling of magic invaded his skin.    


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys. The chapter is a bit shorter today sorry. Mostly because I didn't want to have to split the mission into two parts, so that's all gonna be on its own part. 
> 
> I'm still working on this, even if it is a lot slower than normal. IRL is taking some time to settle down, now that my country is pretty much back to normal. So I'm expected to be job searching and what not. I'll keep writing though. Don't worry about that.


	8. The Puppy and the Chocobo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm sorry that it took so long to get this chapter out x.x I promise, I haven't forgotten about it - In fact, the next chapter is all but done. 
> 
> This chapter is a LONG one. Like, 3x the usual length, so be prepared. Also be prepared for some ups and downs. Cory described the chapter as "chaotic". 
> 
> Also, some of the art was actually done by me. I'm still new to digital art, so I can't promise it'll be good x.x 
> 
> CONTENT WARNING: Panic attacks. Flashbacks.

Consciousness came back very slow, then all at once. His senses came back before he could do anything about them, and his mind scrambled to take in every sensation. The soft breeze that told him he was outside, carried a tang of salt to it. Near the ocean then. It moved the grass below him, tickling his exposed skin that was heating up rapidly from direct sunlight.    
  
He could hear soft, familiar snores beside him, telling him exactly where Zack was. To his right, as always. Far enough for a little space, but close enough to protect him from anything that would come after them. Just like always.    
  
His mind was working, his senses were working, but his body wouldn’t move. It had been so long since he had been affected by a status ailment, that he began to panic. He wasn’t used to waking up like this, not for a long time. Wasn’t it supposed to be faster? Wasn’t it supposed to be instantaneous if a counter spell or item was used?   
  
So why couldn’t he move?   
  
His heart rate picked up, his breathing gaining speed as he tried with everything he had to move. A finger. A toe. Anything. Just  _ move _ ! He couldn’t be like this. Aware of everything but unable to so much as lift a finger. Not again.    
  
‘ _ Hang in there.’ _ _   
_   
His memories began to assault him. To remind him of what it had been like last time, when the mako had weighed him down but let his mind run free. To be helpless and hapless, relying on Zack for everything from feeding to bathing. To protecting.    
  
_ ‘I wouldn’t do that to you. We’re friends, right?’ _   
  
He hadn’t been able to do anything, while Zack had constantly put his life on the line, protecting Cloud. Hiding him from all that would hurt him. Paying the price for Cloud’s freedom. For almost an entire year, he could do nothing but be carried by his friend and trust him to take care of him.    
  
_ ‘For... the both of us’ _   
  
He had taken that protection. He had given himself to his fate, to take all the help,  _ everything _ that Zack could do for him.    
  
Until Zack had nothing left.    
  
_ ‘You’ll be… my living... legacy.’ _   
  
His memories could feel the soft rain on his skin, the blood soaking through his hair, his clothes. Causing his grip on the beloved sword to slip. He could -   
  
“Hey man! Wake up!”    
  
A hand on his shoulder jolted him out of his trance like state and Cloud shot up from the ground, almost smacking his helmet against Zack’s head. The young man was looking at him with wide, worried, eyes.    
  
“You okay there?” Zack asked, stepping back from Cloud to give him space. He squatted down beside the trooper and regarded him for a moment. “Not used to getting sleepelled, huh?”   
  
“N-no.” Cloud lied, his voice trembling almost as much as the rest of him.    
  
The jarring way that he had been snapped out of it had helped. Seeing Zack alive,  _ talking _ to him, helped too. He took a deep breath, then another, and reminded himself to find a way to the Northern Crater to find another Ribbon. Preferably soon.    
  
“It’s all good.” Zack grinned at him, “Just give it a minute, you’ll be right as rain.”   
  
“R-right.” Cloud agreed, leaning forward as he concentrated on calming down.    
  
“I’m Zack.” A gloved hand pushed its way into his vision, and Cloud took it with a little hesitation.    
  
“Cloud.”    
  
It was strange to have to introduce himself to the man that had done so much for him, but it helped Cloud remember that this was now. That those things he had experienced hadn’t happened yet. That Zack was alive and well and… squatting?   
  
He watched the man burn off energy while his own bones ached from exhaustion. Once, long ago, he had blamed the excess energy on mako and SOLDIER treatments, but now… Now Cloud had far more mako in his system than Zack ever would, and he suddenly had no idea how the boy was able to move so  _ much _ .    
  
“Feeling better?” Zack asked on his downward arc.    
  
“Yeah.” Cloud agreed and stood, stretching as he looked around them.    
  
“So we just gotta figure out where we are, right?” Zack asked, stopping his movements and looking around them too. Was he always that tall?   
  
Cloud looked around them. They were in a wide open field, and in the distance he could see a mountain range. Just before that, he could make something else out. A tower with a bird on the top.    
  
Fort Condor.    
  
He was about to tell Zack this, when he caught himself. There was no way he should know about Fort Condor. And even if he did, nobody without enhanced vision would be able to see the tower from that distance.    
  
“Let’s go this way.” Cloud suggested, pointing them in the general direction of the fort.    
  
“Why?” Zack asked, but didn’t seem to object as he began to move in the direction Cloud had pointed.    
  
“Dunno.” Cloud shrugged, “Why not?” He questioned. “Not gonna figure out where we are by standing still. There’s mountains over there. Might be able to figure out which ones when we get closer.”    
  
“Fair enough.” Zack grinned and began to march, Cloud keeping up easily. “So. You been out of Midgar much?”    
  
“Mhm.” Cloud agreed. “I’m a country boy.”    
  
“Yeah? Me too!” Zack’s expression seemed to be permanently glued to ‘grinning’, and Cloud couldn’t get enough of it. “Where are you from?”   
  
“Nibelheim.” There didn’t seem to be a reason to lie, and if he could get Zack to tell him about himself, it would be easier not to trip up on things he shouldn’t know later.    
  
While he possibly should have been expecting it, Zack’s laughter at the name of his hometown took him by surprise. It wasn’t necessarily an unusual reaction to hearing the name, but for some reason, Cloud had expected a person from a town called “ _ Gongaga _ ” to be a little less inclined to laugh.    
  
“How about you?” Cloud asked, watching Zack from the corner of his eyes.    
  
“Me? Gongaga.” Zack answered easily, thrusting a thumb into his own chest. It was a familiar action - hell, this entire conversation was starting to feel familiar.    
  
He couldn’t help his own chuckle at the way Zack was acting. It was kind of nice to see that the boy hadn’t had to grow all the way up yet. If Cloud had a say, he would be able to stay this carefree for a long while yet.    
  
“Hey!” Zack objected, “What’s so funny about that!? You know Gongaga?”    
  
Cloud was tempted to tell him yes. That he had been there on a great number of occasions. But he kept that to himself. He didn’t need to give away his past. As far as anybody was concerned, Cloud had travelled directly from Nibelheim to Midgar, and hadn’t stopped anywhere to sight see.    
  
He scrambled for another reason for his laughter. “No. But it’s such a backwater name.”   
  
“Ditto Nibelheim.”    
  
“Like you’ve been there.”    
  
“I haven’t. But there’s a reactor there, right?” Not for much longer if Cloud had any say in it. But… He gave a small nod. “A Mako reactor outside of Midgar usually means -”    
  
Cloud knew where this was going. It was a common saying for any small town with a reactor. “Nothing else out there.” He said in time with Zack.    
  
Zack’s laughter was infectious, and Cloud found himself chuckling with the boy, wishing beyond hope that all their future interactions could be as carefree as this one.    
  
“Hey! I think I see something!” Zack called out, cupping a hand over his eyes to shield them from the glare of the midday sun.    
  
They had finally got close enough to the mountains for Zack to have picked up on the tower of Fort Condor. Good. Hopefully Zack would recognise it, and they would be one step closer to getting home.    
  
“Looks like a tower of some sort. Let’s head that way. Whoever lives there might be able to point us towards Midgar.”    
  
“Sure.” Cloud agreed, following Zack’s lead. He knew exactly how to get back to Midgar from there, but he didn’t want to tip his hand too quickly. It wasn’t far, and the only problem he could foresee would be getting through the marshes. They would need a chocobo for that.   
  
While Cloud was fairly certain that he could take down a Zolom - even with the toothpick of a sword he had equipped - he also knew that he wasn’t  _ supposed _ to be able to. If they could avoid encountering it at all, it would make their return journey a lot easier.    
  
“So. You wanna be in SOLDIER, huh?” Zack’s question brought with it a torrent of memories, and Cloud struggled to keep them in check. He pushed his past aside and tried to concentrate on the present, lest he get lost in his own mind again.    
  
“Uh.” He didn’t give a definite answer, his mind focusing too hard on cataloging everything he could see and smell that was here.  _ Now _ .    
  
“You gotta, right. Why else would you train under  _ Sephiroth _ ? How the hell did you even get him to train you? I’ve been friends with Angeal for  _ years _ and I’ve never even  _ met _ Sephiroth!” Zack was speaking quickly with all the enthusiasm of a teenager, “Then you show up, and you’re not even  _ in _ SOLDIER and he picks you as an apprentice! Not that I’m jealous or anything. Angeal’s the best mentor ever. Okay. Maybe I’m a  _ little _ jealous.”    
  
Did Zack ever stop talking? Cloud stared at him as they walked, watching the way the boy moved with more energy than a mako addict after their last fix.    
  
“Uh.” Cloud couldn’t think of anything to say, but that didn’t seem to matter, since Zack just  _ kept talking. _   
  
“Sephiroth is this ultimate badass, right? The way people talk about him, it’s like he’s not even human. I mean, I get it. It’s propaganda and all that, put him on a pedestal that none of us can ever reach and make us all scramble over each other and try. But it can’t all be true. I mean, do his eyes  _ really _ glow in the dark?”   
  
“Yes.” Cloud answered, trying not to get overwhelmed with the amount of chatter being thrown his way. Even Yuffie had never been this talkative. Well… Except for that one time that Cid had given her coffee.  _ That _ had been an experience not dissimilar to what he was going through now.    
  
“Wait. For real?” Zack questioned, turning his entire attention on Cloud now. Cloud just nodded.    
  
“Dude. How much mako does that man  _ have _ ?”    
  
Cloud was very close to giving Zack the exact answer, when he managed to stop himself. Even Sephiroth shouldn’t know that in this time. Instead, he just shrugged.    
  
“You ever get to see him fight?” Zack questioned.    
  
“Sure.” Cloud shrugged again.    
  
“What’s it like?” And now Zack was reminding Cloud of Denzel. The way he was lighting up and asking every question he could think of. It was very childlike.    
  
Cloud shrugged again, but focused on the conversation. It was either that, or spend time remembering Denzel - which would lead to nothing but depression when he thought about how he was never going to see his kids again.    
  
“Fast.” He answered Zack. “Efficient.” He added. “He took out a behemoth in less than a minute.” Or at least, that’s how long Cloud approximated. He’d been a little distracted when Sephiroth had taken down the beast.    
  
Zack’s eyes grew wide and somehow so did his grin. “Awesome! Man, okay, I take it back. I’m more than a  _ little  _ jealous that you get to see that.” His grin fell away for a split second. “Just don’t tell Angeal.” He pleaded.    
  
Cloud frowned at Zack, “Pretty sure Angeal’s the one monitoring us.” He told Zack, whose face fell even further, eyes now reminding Cloud of a kicked puppy. “Hey,” He tried to think of something that would cheer him up. “I’m sure he won’t take it personally.” He reassured Zack, using the same tone of voice that he had used in the past for Marlene. “I bet he gets compared to Sephiroth all the time.”   
  
Somehow, that made Zack’s face fall even further, and Cloud cursed his social ineptitude. He had no idea what to say to fix Zack and make him happy again. “You said Angeal’s the best mentor, right?” He questioned, “I’m sure he never subjected you to two weeks of studying under Genesis.”    
  
“Wait. You know Genesis too!?” Zack’s enthusiasm came back so suddenly that Cloud was worried the boy had whiplash. “Aww man, you know all three of the firsts! That’s so cool!”    
  
“Uh… Not really.” Cloud disagreed. “I’ve said like, three words to Angeal. And Genesis won’t shut up about his damn book.” The man had even quoted it to him in  _ bed _ .    
  
“Yeah, but what’s he  _ like _ ?” Zack questioned, and Cloud held back a sigh. Somehow, he felt like he’d been asking for this.    
  
“He reminds me of a cat.” Cloud answered honestly.    
  
“A… cat?”    
  
“Yeah. Likes attention, but only on his terms. Likes to think of himself as the one in charge. Fastidious about his appearance.” Cloud didn’t know him very well, but this was definitely the impression that he’d got. Especially when it came to that coat of his. “Hates other cats. Oh - and he’s a bossy little shit.” Cloud nodded to himself. “Yeah. He’s like a cat.”    
  
“Dude. Careful, you could get in trouble for saying stuff like that.” Zack warned, his expression serious for a moment.    
  
“Huh?” Cloud had said much worse about the man, to his face, and hadn’t suffered any consequences. In fact, Genesis had seemed to find it amusing, more than anything. “Not really.” He shrugged, “I think Genesis is just excited to have another magic user around.”    
  
“Well, anyone in SOLDIER can use magic.” Zack pointed out.    
  
“Yeah. Once they’re  _ in _ SOLDIER. The extra mako helps a heap.  _ Normal _ people struggle with casting, even from high grade materia.” Cloud remembered the struggles the rest of AVALANCHE had had at the beginning of their journey. Everyone other than himself and Aerith had had to do a lot of training before they became proficient.   
  
“Huh, I forgot about that.” Zack admitted, rubbing at the back of his neck as he stretched. “So you’re good at magic?” He questioned.    
  
“Kinda.” Cloud shrugged, not sure how good he had to pretend to be with it. He lowered his head, watching the ground pass below them in an attempt to appear bashful. “Good enough to impress Genesis, I guess.”    
  
As he was watching the ground, Cloud noticed a few dents in the grass, and a quick look around him confirmed what his instincts had thought of them. “Hey look.” He cut Zack off from whatever he was babbling on about now and pointed at the ground.   
  
“What am I looking at?” Zack questioned, leaning forward to peer closer at the ground. His hands were on his hips, and Cloud couldn’t help but laugh at the stance. The boy looked like he was trying to do an impression of a Chocobo and peck the ground.    
  
“Chocobo tracks.” Cloud managed, pushing his amusement aside. “Means there’s wild Chocobos around.” He explained.    
  
“Oh!” Zack brightened again, standing upright as his head darted around from one direction to another, as if expecting to see a chocobo at any moment. “Think we can find one?”    
  
“Unlikely.” Cloud hated to shatter Zack’s hopes like that, but he wasn’t about to lie to him. Not when he could help it. “Unless you have Chocobo Lure materia on you.”    
  
As he watched Zack’s face fall, and the small pout take hold, Cloud had an idle thought. He had previously mastered a Chocobo Lure materia or four in his own time. Was it possible for him to use it now like he could with the elemental magic?    
  
How did one even purposefully  _ cast _ a passive spell? It wasn’t like fire and earth where he could imagine the effects and summon them forward. Chocobo Lure was something else entirely, something that just happened in the background. Sure, there was a particular sensation when one was activated, but it wouldn’t work to just try to summon  _ that _ up, would it?   
  
Zack was babbling again, but Cloud wasn’t paying any attention to him. He was too busy pondering on what exactly the Chocobo Lure materia had felt like when activated. Sort of warm and tingly, but also weirdly cold like all magic. If he had to describe it, he would have said something along the lines of ‘a cool breeze on a summer day’.    
  
“Cloud?” Zack’s voice was sounding a little concerned, and it pulled Cloud from his musings. He looked at the SOLDIER and blinked a few times, trying to ground himself back in reality.    
  
“Sorry. Lost in thought.” He explained.    
  
“Oka- Hey look!” Zack’s enthusiastic exclamation was accompanied by a finger pointing behind Cloud. When the blonde turned around, it was just in time to see a chocobo scurry away. “Guess we got to see one after all!”    
  
“That’s pretty rare.” Cloud muttered, watching as the bird quickly disappeared into the distance. “Normally they don’t come without…” Had he managed to somehow cast Chocobo Lure? Had it actually worked?   
  
“I’ve never seen one in the wild before!” Zack was bouncing excitedly beside Cloud and was more than a little distracting. No wonder the bird had fled.    
  
“Hey Zack.” Cloud turned back to his new friend. “Sit down for a minute.” He told him, watching with amusement as the SOLDIER did as asked without even asking why. “Stay there.” Cloud added, taking a few steps away from the boy.    
  
Maybe if he concentrated… The sensations, the magic, the  _ knowledge _ . He closed his eyes and thought again, remembering the cool warmth of the spell, the way it had enveloped not only himself, but those close to him. He remembered how it hadn’t taken long to get used to it, and how jarring it had felt when he had deactivated the materia.    
  
He remembered, after their journey, of using the small orb as a comfort when living alone in the church. He remembered how he had clutched to that one materia, letting the warmth surround him when the world had felt too cold. Too distant. Too cruel. He remembered the simple contentment that had washed over him. The-   
  
“ _ Wark _ ”   
  
“Cloud look!”    
  
The two sounds came at once, shattering his concentration. He opened his eyes in time to see yet another chocobo turn tail and flee. It had been close, almost close enough for him to catch. But not quite close enough.    
  
So apparently he could cast passive spells too, if he concentrated hard enough. But the moment his concentration was broken, the spell lost its effect. Pity. He could think of a dozen passive spells that would be useful to be able to spontaneously cast in a fight.    
  
“Zack,” Cloud turned back to his companion, noting with annoyance that he didn’t have to look far. The boy had  _ not _ stayed put, and instead was once again bouncing beside Cloud. “Stay as still and quiet as you can.” He ordered. “When a Chocobo comes close, you need to not spook it, and take out any monsters that come with it right away but without any sudden movements. Think you can do that?” If Zack could take out anything with the Chocobo, and somehow manage to  _ not _ spook it, Cloud might actually be able to lure one to them.    
  
He had enough experience with wild chocobos to be able to tame one if it came close enough, he just had to be able to  _ touch _ one.    
  
“I can  _ try _ .” Zack promised, “But didn’t you say it was rare to see a wild one?”    
  
“The fact that we’ve already seen two makes me think it might not be as rare as I thought.” Cloud lied. He knew  _ exactly _ how rare it was to see a wild chocobo without a lure materia. It just so happened that  _ Cloud _ was somehow able to lure them. He turned to Zack. “Okay. Until it gets close,  _ real _ close, you need to keep still and quiet.”    
  
Zack nodded, giving him the same serious look that a puppy would before doing exactly what you told it  _ not _ to do.    
  
Cloud sighed. “Sit.” He ordered, pointing at the ground. Zack sat. “Good boy. Now  _ stay _ .” He ordered, watching as Zack sighed in defeat then nodded. “Good. When the chocobo is close enough for you to count its teeth,  _ then _ you can get up.  _ Slowly _ .”    
  
“Do chocobo even  _ have _ teeth?” Zack questioned, frowning.   
  
  
  
“Wait until it’s close enough to figure it out.” Closing his eyes again, Cloud tuned out Zack and tried again, concentrating on his casting. He stretched his arm out, hoping that Zack would end up too distracted by the birds to question him about this later.    
  
He was focusing hard enough on the spell that he didn’t notice when Zack stood - slowly and carefully - nor did he notice the heat of a fire spell, or the sound of a sword hitting its mark. He kept his entire consciousness fixated on the sensations of the magic right up until he felt a strong beak push its way into his hand.    
  
Slowly, he opened his eyes and smiled at the bird nuzzling his arm. “Hey there.” He spoke quietly, moving with the grace and care his experience had taught him. “There’s a good boy.” He reassured the bird as he stepped closer, moving to the side. He kept one hand patting the bird’s beak, and the other came up behind its neck. “Hey Zack,” He kept his tone the same, and his attention was still on the bird, but he had to warn Zack. “Step back.” He didn’t give the SOLDIER enough time to do anything else before he vaulted himself up on the Chocobo’s back.    
  
The reaction was instantaneous. Wild Chocbos didn’t always like taking a rider - especially not one as young as this one seemed to be. It bucked, trying to throw him off as it panicked at the new sensation. Cloud clung on, his hands and feet going to the appropriate places automatically as he worked on calming the creature down. It didn’t take long - Cloud was a professional after all - and eventually the animal begrudgingly allowed Cloud to stay on its back.    
  
“Woah.” Zack was watching from a short distance away, and Cloud took a moment to grin at him.    
  
“Gimme a minute.” Cloud requested, shifting a little on the bird’s back. Bareback was never the most comfortable way to ride, but Cloud had done it often enough in the past that it only took him a moment to find the right position. Experimentally, he pushed the bird to move in the direction he wanted it to, and the creature complied.    
  
“Okay.” Cloud sat up properly, his hand idly petting the chocobo. “I think he’ll let you jump up too now.”    
  
To his credit, Zack only hesitated for a second before joining Cloud. Or attempting to anyway. He reached up and jumped, landing easily on the creature’s back with a grin. It lasted a second before the bird began to buck again, throwing Zack in a neat arc directly onto his ass.    
  
The befuddled and slightly disgruntled look that came over Zack’s face was enough to set Cloud off laughing. “ _ Carefully. _ ” He scolded, taking a moment to calm the still anxious chocobo. “It’s a bird, not a bike.” He reminded Zack. “Hold on to me, not his feathers, and when you climb up, try not to land too heavily on its back.”    
  
With a quiet grumble, Zack stood and apprehensively took the few steps towards the bird before climbing up as Cloud had explained. With a few more instructions, and a warning to hold on tight to Cloud, Zack was finally mounted on the chocobo.    
  
“Think you’re ready to move?” Cloud didn’t give Zack enough time to answer before he pushed the chocobo forward at a slow pace. It didn’t take long for it to take to having two riders, and Cloud could feel it getting a bit antsy.   
  
Behind him, Zack was shifting far too much for Cloud to take it any faster. “Have you ever ridden a chocobo before?” He questioned.    
  
“Nope. Only ever seen them from afar, or with a carriage and stuff. My girlfriend lives in the slums and people use them down there sometimes. But they never ride on the back of them.”   
  
Cloud’s stomach lurched a little at the mention of Zack’s girlfriend in the slums. There was only one person that that could have been, and he didn’t really want to think about her. It hurt far too much to know that she was so close, close enough for him to visit, but also so far away given the fact that he would be a complete stranger to her.    
  
Seeing Zack was hard enough. He would have to give himself more time before being able to even think about going to see Aerith. A lot more time.    
  
“So chocobos have this instinct to gather in a herd.” Cloud started to explain as he subtly led their mount towards the mountains. “If we let it lead us, it should take us to the biggest one. And normally, if there’s a herd that big, it’s being looked after by someone.” Most of that was true. And it gave an excuse for them to be travelling directly to where they needed to go. “I say we just let the chocobo do what it does, and ask them how to get back to Midgar. Might even make good time if we’re on chocobo back.”    
  
“Sure. Sounds like a plan!” Zack agreed, somewhat enthusiastically. He seemed to be getting used to the constant motion of riding, so Cloud pushed the bird to go slightly faster.   
  
“Fair warning,” Cloud leaned forward as he spoke, reaching a hand back to make sure that Zack was holding on tight. “Chocobos like to go fast.”    
  
“How fast?” There was a hint of nervousness in Zack’s voice, but Cloud found himself grinning rather than feeling sympathetic. He knew that even if the bird bucked him off at full speed, the worst that Zack would suffer would be a few bruises, and maybe an injured pride.    
  
“Fast.” He repeated, “Hold on.” When Zack’s arms tightened around him, Cloud pushed the bird to go at top speed. Partially to let it run off some of the nervous energy it had built from being tamed, partially to get a cheap laugh at Zack’s squeak of surprise, but mostly it was simply because Cloud enjoyed riding fast.    
  
It didn’t take them long to reach the cave, and Cloud slowed them down as they approached. “So if we both dismount, the chocobo will run away.” He warned. “But there’s probably gonna be monsters inside.” No probably about it. Cloud knew for a fact that there were monsters inside. Monsters that liked to swarm and show up in great numbers.    
  
But they were weak monsters, and Zack shouldn’t have a problem with them. “I can control the bird,” He continued. “So maybe you should hop down and clear the way?” If need be, Cloud knew that he could fight while on chocobo back, but he wasn’t sure if he could hold back his skill while doing so. It was obvious that Zack already had a lot of questions - as noted by the fact that the boy had been oddly quiet for the last little while - and he didn’t want to add any more.    
  
“Sounds good.” Zack agreed, and before Cloud could warn him about the effects extended riding had on one's legs, Zack jumped down.    
  
“Shit.” Zack cursed as he stumbled, almost landing flat on his ass again. “Man, my legs feel like mush!” He chuckled, stretching before falling into a squat. “Ow.”    
  
“Yeah. Sorry. Forgot to mention that.” Cloud shrugged and shared a grin with Zack, who seemed to be taking everything in stride.    
  
“So, how d’you wanna do this?” Zack questioned.    
  
“Hmm?”    
  
“Never been in there before - that I know of. I dunno my way around. But you said the chocobo might?” Cloud nodded at the question. “So you want to go first, and I take out anything that needs to be taken out? Or do you want me to scout and then fall back if it goes a different way?”    
  
That was a good question. Zack in front meant that fewer monsters were likely to attack them, but Cloud out front meant they would be through quicker. Especially since Cloud  _ did _ know his way through these caves.    
  
“I can tell which way the chocobo wants to go.” He told Zack. Not entirely a lie, but this time he would be leading it. “So if you go ahead, I can call out directions. Just don’t go too far.”    
  
It didn’t take them too long to get through the widinging, twisting pathways, and soon enough they were heading towards the exit of the caves. From experience, Cloud knew that the marshes beyond were dangerous, but there was a small patch of safety before reaching them.    
  
“When we get out of here,” He spoke up, interrupting the small talk that was mostly Zack’s. “You’ll want to hop back on. The chocobo’s gonna want to bolt the minute it gets back outside.” Zack nodded intently, apparently trusting Cloud’s expertise on the matter.    
  
The moment they got to the exit, Zack clambered back on to the birds back, with a lot more success this time around. He didn’t fall even once. As soon as Cloud thought Zack to be secure enough, he leaned forward and set the bird off at a fast pace, keeping his eye out for the shadow indicating the location of the Zolom.    
  
“Woah. Whadda ya think that is?” Zack questioned, pointing directly at said shadow as it moved towards them.    
  
“Nothing good, I’d bet.” Cloud shifted the direction the bird was moving and pushed it to go a little faster. The poor thing was starting to get exhausted now, but he knew it would last at least to the edge of the marsh. “We’ll avoid it, just in case.”    
  
Zack moved with what Cloud assumed to be a nod and fell quiet. He could feel Zack shift against his back, and realized that the boy was holding his sword, ready to draw if need be.    
  
Thankfully, this wasn’t Cloud’s first time outrunning a Zolom and they made it to the other side with relative ease. He let the chocobo slow and set its own pace as he directed it towards the ranch that he could just see in the distance.    
  
After a few minutes, when he was sure that a normal person would’ve been able to see it, he sat up. “Oh hey! I know this place!” He told Zack, pointing at the buildings in the middle distance. “Sephiroth and I came here on a mission a few days ago.”    
  
“Think they’ll give us a place to crash?” Zack suggested, looking up at the darkening sky. “I know we’re supposed to get back to Midgar quickly, but Angeal’ll kill me if we end up in trouble ‘cause we tried to travel through the night.”    
  
“Probably not a good idea anyway.” Cloud nodded, “Don’t the really scary monsters come out at night?” Obviously Cloud knew the answer, but he was supposed to be a clueless grunt, and he needed to start acting like it. “We slept here when we were on our mission last time. Even Sephiroth didn’t want to drive back in the dark. And that was with a truck.”    
  
“Well, lets go ask them.” Zack’s usual enthusiasm was back and he shifted again, throwing a hand forward in a ‘let’s go’ motion, almost tipping him off the chocobo again. Said creature gave an affronted ‘wark’ and Zack laughed as he held tighter to Cloud. “I’m sure this little guy’ll be happy to get us off his back.” He laughed again, “Get it? Off his back?”    
  
Suppressing a groan at the really bad joke, Cloud rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. “C’mon.” He muttered, mostly to the bird.    
  
\-- -- -- -- -- -- --    
  
As Cloud had expected they were welcomed at the chocobo farm for the night. They didn’t have any equipment with them - not even a tent - so being able to stay inside for the night was a definite plus in Cloud’s eyes. It was unlikely that either he or Zack would get too cold during the night, but when they were offered a few blankets, he took them anyway.    
  
At least this way he wouldn’t be questioned as to why he wanted to keep his uniform and helmet on while they slept. As Zack got settled, Billy approached Cloud and asked him to take the young chocobo out for a run again, which Cloud gladly did.    
  
He was only out for an hour this time, not wanting to worry Zack too much. The SOLDIER Second had declined to go with him, so he would be waiting back at the farm for someone he assumed was unenhanced and inexperienced in battle.    
  
So it wasn’t surprising to find a ball of anxious energy masquerading as a SOLDIER when Cloud came back. It was equal parts amusing, adorable, and frustrating to have Zack all but cling to him and follow him around for the rest of the evening.    
  
“I’m  _ fine _ Zack.” Cloud sighed for the third time in as many minutes. “Chocobos can out run anything out here. Even if something  _ did _ come near me, I could get away without having to fight.”    
  
“I still don’t like you being out there on your own.” Zack mumbled, throwing himself down on the ground where they had planned to sleep for the night. “Anything could happen.”   
  
“Yeah, you’d probably fail the mission if I died.”    
  
“Dude, you’re worth way more than the mission!” Zack seemed to have taken offense at Cloud’s attempt at humour and was staring at him with wide, hurt eyes.    
  
The look on Zack’s face made Cloud feel bad and he let out another sigh and sat down beside his new-old friend. “I’d be fine.” He tried to reassure him. “Even Sephiroth was happy to let me go on a run.”   
  
Zack gave Cloud a strange look, that even with all his experience of being around Zack (or  _ being _ Zack), Cloud couldn’t decipher. He just shrugged and dropped the subject as he lay on his bedroll.    
  
“So… you any good with a sword?” Zack asked, obviously trying to find some small talk before they slept.    
  
“Somewhat.” Cloud replied, not wanting to give him a real answer. “Learned a lot from Sephiroth.” Not exactly a lie…    
  
“With a  _ Toothpick _ ?” Zack snorted in amusement. “Can’t see how that would measure up to Masamune.”    
  
Cloud just shrugged. “It’s not all about size.”    
  
It wasn’t until Zack burst out laughing that Cloud realized the innuendo. He found himself chuckling at his own unintentional joke.    
  
“It’s about how you use it, right?”    
  
“What can I say, I don’t need the compensation.”    
  
“Dare you to say  _ that _ to his face.”    
  
\-- -- -- -- -- --    
  
As the sun rose, so did the chocobos. Once again, Cloud found himself waking to the various sounds of rousing birds. And once  _ again _ , he was completely fine with that, while his travelling companion was  _ not _ .    
  
“What the!?” Zack sat bolt upright, looking around like a startled cat. It seemed to take him a moment to remember where he was, and to figure out just  _ what _ was causing the awful racket. “Didn’t know chocobos were so loud…”    
  
Cloud laughed and nodded. “Yep. You should hear them during breeding season.” He was already folding his blanket, ready to give it back to Chocobo Bill. “Sun comes up, chocobos wake up.”    
  
“Do they have to be so  _ loud _ about it?” Zack complained, stretching and yawning. “Talk about alarm clocks.”    
  
“Maybe we should get a few around the tower.” Cloud joked, “See how many people sleep in  _ then.”  _   
  
“Maybe.” To his credit, Zack was on his feet in moments, following Cloud’s example of folding the blanket. “We should head back. Any idea how long it’ll take us to get back to Midgar from here?”    
  
“Depends. I’m gonna talk to Bill and see if he’ll lend us a few Chocobos in exchange for the one we brought in.”    
  
Zack didn’t look too keen on the idea, which surprised Cloud. He would’ve thought that Zack of all people would enjoy riding on chocobos. The boy gave a sigh and nodded, probably weighing up his discomfort with the efficiency that the birds would provide.    
  
And so, less than twenty minutes later, Cloud found himself instructing Zack on the finer points of riding in a saddle. “Don’t worry too much.” He told the younger man, “Your bird will follow mine. Just make sure to try to keep it heading the same way.”    
  
He grinned up at the SOLDIER already sat atop the bird. “And hey,” He added, “You didn’t fall off this time. That’s an improvement.”    
  
“And how many times have you fallen off a chocobo?” Zack grumbled.    
  
“A fair few.” Cloud shrugged. It had taken him a few attempts to get used to it. “You’ll get the hang of it.”    
  
With that said, Cloud hoisted himself onto his own bird and began to lead the way.    
  
It was a pleasant ride, even if it was slower than Cloud would’ve liked. Riding a chocobo made him feel free in a way that was only matched by Fenrir, and it was unlikely that he would have a bike quite like that again. At least not for a while.    
  
The ride passed with relative peace. They even made a small pit stop in Kalm where Zack treated them to a light lunch. Then they were on their way again, enjoying the nice day.    
  
At least, it was pleasant until they came to the wastes. The moment they arrived, Cloud felt a sudden drop in his chest. His nerves were shot and he began to shake as they came up to a cliff. A  _ specific _ cliff.    
  
“Cloud?” Zack’s voice wasn’t helping as his brain very unhelpfully reminded him of the last time they were both there.    
  
Sure, he’d visited this particular place a lot, especially before he took the Buster Sword into the church. Once upon a time, he came out here  _ often _ . But never with Zack. He’d only ever been here with Zack once, and his mind was throwing those memories at him one after another.    
  
Suddenly, it was raining. The heavy droplets falling onto the dirt and ringing softly on the armour of fallen men. The skies were gray and his body felt heavy. But he could move. He could -   
  
“Cloud!?”    
  
_ “For… the both of us…” _   
  
There was so much blood. Coating Zack’s chest. His own hands. His face. Slowly leaking out of the numerous holes in his friend. His friend who had given everything to protect him. To pay for his freedom.    
  
“ _ My… living… legacy… _ .”    
  
The hitch in his breath, the painfully slow way he forced out the words. One by one. It had all happened in the past. And it was all happening now.    
  
“CLOUD!”   
  
The wind was cold, picking up dust as it came, but he paid it no mind. His eyes were locked on to that spot. That place. Zack was laying there, breathing his last breaths and there was  _ nothing _ he could do about it. Nothing but stare as his mind scrambled to put everything together, to  _ understand _ the thoughts muddled by mako.    
  
“CLOUD!”    
  
There was a hand on his shoulder, forcefully yanking him away. His eyes lost sight of the spot as he was turned roughly to face Zack. Zack.    
  
Alive and well.    
  
Zack.    
  
Breathing. Looking at him with wide, worried eyes.    
  
“Cloud man, snap out of it!” The words were accompanied by a small shake on his shoulder and the movement, the voice, it helped draw Cloud back to the present. To the now. The rain disappeared, the sun came back out, and the only reason his uniform was sticking to him was the sweat he had apparently built up.   
  
“Sorry.” He managed. Why was it so hard to breathe? Why did his chest feel so tight? Like every breath was strenuously stolen from the world around him. His heart was beating so rapidly that he was worried for a moment that it would explode.   
  
“You okay man?” Zack questioned, looking more worried than before. “You just stopped. And you’re shaking. What happened?”    
  
“I-” He didn’t want to think about it. To remember. He didn’t want to be pulled back into that memory. He didn’t want to try to explain it. Not to Zack. So he shook his head, trying to physically rid himself of the thoughts. “Let’s mosey,” He muttered, kicking his chocobo into moving.    
  
Zack didn’t seem convinced, but he followed behind anyway, even when Cloud pushed his chocobo faster than they had been riding before.    
  
He didn’t look back.   
  
\--- -- -- -- -- -- -- --    
  
Once they reached the city gates, they were picked up by a helicopter. Cloud ignored the pilot and Zack both, preferring not to say anything until he was sure he wouldn’t get lost in memory again. He simply stared out the window and watched Midgar pass below them.    
  
He knew that his silence was probably worrying Zack, especially after the way he had acted in the wastes, but he found himself too mentally exhausted to do anything about it. Even when they landed, he barely paid attention. At least until he saw who was waiting for them.    
  
Still, he couldn’t muster up more than a steely glare at Sephiroth, even though he knew the man wouldn’t see it behind his helmet. The small frown the general gave almost made him think he could feel it somehow, but that didn’t matter.    
  
He pushed passed the man, deliberately shoulder checking him along the way. He vaguely heard Angeal say something about reporting in for a debrief tomorrow, but that was a problem for another time.    
  
Right now, he needed to be alone.    
  
\-- -- -- -- -- -- --    
  
Alone wasn’t an easy thing to do when you had bunkmates. They were already there when Cloud arrived, so he simply grabbed himself a clean set of clothes and made for the showers.    
  
Which were also occupied. Still, he took the stall furthest from anyone else and quickly washed the two days of grime from himself. Once he was done, he left the showers and found himself floundering. He didn’t want to go back to his bunk. To deal with the barely hidden disdain of his once squad mates.    
  
But where else could he go? It was mid afternoon, which meant that there would already be someone in the training room. Likewise in the gym, and possibly even the library. He could go to the rec floor and try to hide there, but he was unlikely to not run into anyone.    
  
As he was thinking, his fingers were idly flicking at the keycard he had been given days ago and an idea sparked.    
  
Sephiroth was probably busy. He was a general with a stupid amount of paperwork that seemed to never end. He absolutely did  _ not _ want to run into him, but the chances of him being in his apartment at this time of day were slim to none. And besides, Khat would be there. She would probably cheer him up.    
  
And yeah, maybe it would be an invasion of privacy. And yeah, it was highly possible that Sephiroth would be offended by his personal space being invaded without prior notice. But fuck him. Cloud needed to escape and that was a place he could do so.    
  
So, with that in mind, Cloud made his way to Sephiroth’s apartment building, somewhat surprised when the guards let him in. Maybe Sephiroth hadn’t revoked his permission for Cloud to enter? He hadn’t asked for his keycard back either.    
  
As expected, Khat was waiting in Sephiroth’s rooms. She looked up as he let himself in and made a soft chirping sound that Cloud decided was in greeting. He dropped his sword and dirty clothes in a corner, not caring about the mess he was making, and sat beside the feline.    
  
“Hey Cat.” He greeted, reaching out to gently pet her head.    
  
Khat looked up at him, sniffed his fingers for a moment and stood. She stretched then moved, depositing herself directly into his lap before curling up and going back to sleep. He smiled down at her, glad that  _ someone _ was happy to see him.   
  
  
  
He didn’t know how long he sat there for, gently stroking the loudly purring animal. He had intended to give himself maybe half an hour to collect himself and calm down before going back to his dorm, but the time must have gotten away from him.    
  
He was jolted from his trance when the door slid open and when he turned and saw Sephiroth, the serenity that he had found with the cat disappeared instantly, replaced with a burning anger.    
  
“You  _ asshole _ !” His shout was loud enough to startle Khat, who jumped from his lap and gave him an affronted look. But Cloud wasn’t looking at the animal. He didn’t notice her displeasure. His eyes were fixed solely on Sephiroth.    
  
“Hello Cloud.” The general greeted him, looking a little surprised but not at all upset. No. That wouldn’t do.    
  
Suddenly, Cloud wanted nothing more than Sephritoh to be angry. To be pissed that he’d invaded his personal space. Watching Sephiroth calmly step into the apartment and close the door, acting as if Cloud being here was natural, did nothing more than stoke the flames of fury exploding within Cloud.    
  
“You utter, asshole!” Cloud repeated, finding himself unable and uncaring about new insults.    
  
“So you’ve said.” Sephiroth answered, still not looking even mildly irritated.    
  
So Cloud did what he always did when he was pissed off at Sephiroth, what his instincts were shouting,  _ clawing _ at him to do. He launched himself at the man, ready to attack.    
  
Apparently Sephiroth hadn’t been expecting that, and the force of their collision sent them both to the floor, Cloud straddling Sephiroth with his arms raised, ready to beat him. Sephiroth just looked up at him, eyebrow raised as if he was waiting for it, still not even remotely angry.    
  
The first punch was satisfying, but not as much as he expected. “One of the most traumatic moments of my life!” Cloud found himself speaking, explaining why even when he probably didn’t need to. Sephiroth didn’t move. Didn’t even try to block the blows that Cloud was raining down on him. “And you sent me on a mission to  _ relive _ it!?”   
  
Sephiroth’s expression changed from neutral to dawning comprehension. As if it hadn’t even  _ occurred _ to him that this would upset Cloud. As if it didn’t even  _ matter _ before now.   
  
“One of the worst days of my life, and you made me do it again!” Cloud felt himself tire, his punches softer now, half of them not even connecting.    
  
“Why?” He managed to choke out, not even sure why he was quite this upset. Of course Sephiroth wouldn’t think twice about sending Cloud out, of making him find his way back to Midgar with Zack. Why would it matter to him if it hurt Cloud? They were enemies. Begrudging allies at best. Cloud was sent here to  _ kill _ him. Sephiroth had used taunts to pick at his psyche more than once. So why was it so much worse now? It’s not like they were friends.    
  
But even after all of that. After everything they had been through, Cloud had begun to think of Sephiroth as such. How, he didn’t know. But the fact was that had the old Sephiroth, the one he had fought in the past, had sent him on this mission, it wouldn’t have hurt nearly as much. And it certainly wouldn’t have felt like a betrayal. He would have half expected it.    
  
He grasped for the hatred he once held for this man. Floundered for it, wanting nothing more than to clutch to it and use it to fan the flames in his heart. He  _ wanted _ to hate Sephiroth. Maybe then his betrayal wouldn’t hurt so damn much.    
  
But he couldn’t find it.   
  
“Why?” He found himself asking again, his arms falling to his side, voice fading to a pitiful whimper. “Why can’t I hate you?”    
  
Sephiroth finally moved, but it wasn’t to protect himself, or even push Cloud aside. Instead, the man simply sat up, his face coming within inches of Cloud’s helmet. “Because you’re finally starting to see  _ me. _ ”    
  
“What?”    
  
Gently, Sephiroth removed Cloud’s helmet and looked him in the eyes. “Because I am not the monster you once thought me as. That we  _ both _ thought of me.” He put the helmet aside and continued to look at Cloud. “It truly did not cross my mind that this mission would be difficult for you. I am unaware of the details of most of your life.”    
  
Cloud blinked at him for a moment, realizing that Sephiroth was right. How would he know what had happened in the wastes that day? The man had been  _ dead _ at the time. It wasn’t like he had been looking down and watching him. He probably had no idea what Cloud was even talking about.    
  
And as suddenly as it came the last of his anger disappeared leaving Cloud drained. He slumped slightly, caught by Sephiroth’s hand that was still on his shoulder as he fought back tears. His emotions rattled within him, too much, too overwhelming. But it wouldn’t do to cry. Not in front of Sephiroth. No matter how much his heart was aching. He hung his head to hide it.   
  
The man seemed to understand and suddenly Cloud found himself in the  _ very _ unfamiliar position of being held by Sephroth. The general had pulled him against his chest, perhaps to help Cloud hide. But Cloud didn’t have the energy to try to understand Sephiroth’s motivations, to figure out why he was doing it, or why he didn’t rip himself away. He didn’t know why he was able to take comfort in the action. Worse, he didn’t know why he  _ wanted _ to.    
  
“I did not mean to hurt you.” Sephiroth was speaking quietly, but they both knew that he could be heard. His voice was pitched low, quiet, as if the man was trying to soothe him, and somehow it was  _ working _ .    
  
A warm hand cradling him on the back of his head, another around his waist. Cloud knew he should feel revolted, should feel sickened by being this close to his arch nemesis. He should feel afraid and nauseated, not comforted. His body was trembling with emotions, but not the ones he had come to associate with Sephiroth. He was upset, more than a little. Overwhelmed, sure. But it wasn’t with anger, or hate. Cloud didn’t know what he was feeling. It was all too much. And this embrace?   
  
It felt the same as the rare times when Tifa held him.    
  
Somehow,  _ Sephiroth _ of all people was giving his touch starved body the attention it craved. A feeling of safety. He almost couldn’t help the way his arms reached up to cling at the man’s coat. And he almost didn’t care that he didn’t stop himself.    
  
“Believe it or not,” Sephiroth spoke, still in that quiet, soothing voice, “I consider you my friend.” Cloud snorted in disbelief at those words. Even though he knew they were probably true, he still couldn’t quite understand  _ how _ . After everything they’d been through…    
  
“It’s true.” Sephiroth continued. “The animosity between us was fueled by another, the one who would call herself our ‘mother’. Until recently there has never been a time where it has just been us interacting. When you were brought here, I had not expected things to go so smoothly.”    
  
“Smoothly. Right.” Cloud muttered, words muffled by the leather his face was pressed against. “Tell that to your face.”    
  
“It will heal.” Sephiroth didn’t sound like he cared. And really, the man had been through much worse than a possibly broken nose. “I had quite expected you to attack me sooner.”    
  
“Wanted to.” Cloud admitted. “Lots of times.”    
  
This pulled a chuckle from Sephiroth. “I know.”    
  
“So what now?” Cloud wasn’t just asking about what lay ahead in their future. He was also becoming quite aware of how they were sitting, and beginning to feel more than a little awkward.    
  
“Now, I feed my cat and tend to my injuries.” Sephiroth spoke as if sitting there,  _ cuddling _ with his once enemy was a normal thing. “You will need to clean up also. Then, it is perhaps time we talk.”    
  
“I already showered.” Cloud muttered, feeling petulant for some reason. Like a child ordered to bathe.    
  
“And then I bled all over you.” Sephiroth countered, finally pulling back. He held Cloud by the shoulders and that was when Cloud finally saw the mess he had made of Sephiroth’s face.    
  
Impressive bruises were blossoming, spreading over his features in purple splotches. His nose was slightly crooked and bleeding profusely. Though he was feeling somewhat proud of the damage he had managed to do in his furious frenzy, Cloud found himself grimacing.    
  
“Think I broke your nose.” He said as he pulled away, finally climbing off Sephiroth’s lap.    
  
“More than likely. As I said, it will heal.” He still didn’t seem concerned, but Cloud was starting to feel slightly guilty.    
  
Sephiroth honestly hadn’t known about his history with Zack, about the nightmare he had had to relive, and there Cloud was, invading his home and beating the shit out of him. And the man still found it in himself to comfort him.    
  
“Go clean up.” Cloud ordered, “I’ll feed Cat.”    
  
Sephiroth didn’t protest as he peeled himself off the floor with unnatural grace. He gestured at the kitchen, pointing to one cabinet in particular. “Her food is in there. Just fill the bowl.” He explained before disappearing into another room.    
  
Finally alone, Cloud took a deep breath and let it out slowly, running his hand through his hair, feeling the tacky wetness of blood that he would have to wash out.    
  
A chirp at his feet reminded him of his mission and he looked down to smile at the small animal. Apparently she was still a little upset with him, and when he went to pet her she turned and walked away.    
  
“Sorry Cat.” He muttered, finding his way to the cupboard that Sephiroth had indicated. “Let me make it up to you.” He fished out the food and gave her a generous helping. Sephiroth had said he liked to spoil her, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I really want to know what people think about this one. Please comment - even if it's only to shout at me for taking so long xD. 
> 
> Did I do Zack justice? Are people happy with the return of Khat?


	9. Trauma and Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this... a new update so soon??? 
> 
> Well yes. Yes it is. I went on a bit of a writing kick, and the next few chapters are complete (I'm currently starting on 13). BUT there will be a slight delay in some of them, because Cory hasn't even read most of them, therefore no art as of yet. And I refuse to rush him :)

Cloud decided that Sephiorth’s shower was absolutely the best thing to happen to him all day. Hell, all  _ month _ , and he made a vow to use it more often. Cloud decided that if his presence in Sephiroth’s apartment tonight didn’t remind the general to take his keycard back, he would take it as unspoken permission to come and go as he pleased.    
  
Which meant that he was going to be using this shower. A  _ lot _ .    
  
Usually, he would automatically limit himself to very short showers. Five minutes max unless he was particularly grubby from monster hunts and the like. But this time he found himself dawdling under the perfectly pressurised spray. He didn’t even want to think about how much effort went into keeping the water pressure this high so far up in a building. It was a waste of power, but one he was indulging in.   
  
The toiletries were rather decadent too. The floral smelling shampoo a definite upgrade from the military standard he was used to. He honestly didn’t even care that he was going to pretty much smell like Sephiroth. Who was close enough to both of them to even notice?   
  
Eventually, he forced himself out of the shower and back into his slightly blood stained uniform. He made a mental note to launder them soon before he ran out of clean stuff to wear.    
  
After a moment of thought, he put his helmet back on his head. He was far too exhausted to keep tabs on his expression and was glad he could hide it. Especially if Sephiroth wanted to talk about their pasts. He didn’t need to show any more weakness than he already had.   
  
Besides, Sephiroth’s friends had shown that they had no problems barging in. He didn’t want to raise more questions than he absolutely had to.    
  
Eventually, he left the bathroom and joined Sephiroth in the livingroom. As soon as he sat on the couch, the cat happily jumped on his lap. Apparently she had forgiven him for scaring her earlier.    
  
“Tea?” Sephiroth offered from the small kitchen and Cloud shrugged.    
  
“Why not?”    
  
A cup was placed in front of him soon after, and he held it, staring into it intently. “You said you wanted to talk.” He said eventually, his entire being wanting to just  _ not _ .   
  
“To prevent issues like tonight from happening again, I think it would be prudent for you to tell me what to avoid in the future.”   
  
Cloud sighed softly. This wouldn’t be pleasant. “You realize, that means telling you all about the shittiest parts of my life.” He muttered.    
  
“If it becomes too much for you, we can stop.”    
  
It was supposed to be a concession, Cloud figured, but unfortunately to him it came across as more of a challenge. If he stopped because he was getting too overwhelmed, that would be admitting defeat. And if there was one thing he never did with Sephiroth, it was admit defeat.    
  
He shook his head. “Then we’d just have to do it again.” He pointed out. “Keep Hojo away from me.” He started. “If I run into him, I’m likely to run him through. In the heart. And then a beheading.”    
  
Sephiroth chuckled at that and Cloud finally looked up from his tea. Sephiroth was sitting comfortably in his armchair, his legs folded under him. For once, he was wearing a shirt - a soft looking turtleneck that was not dissimilar to the SOLDIER uniform.    
  
And sweatpants.    
  
Cloud found himself blinking at the man, having never thought that he would see Sephiroth in  _ sweatpants _ . That, and the bare feet he could see peeking out from under the man made the whole night take on a surreal feel.    
  
Which helped him dissociate slightly. Maybe this conversation wouldn’t be as hard as he expected. Being emotionally drained helped too.    
  
“Not if I get there first.” Sephiroth added. “I assume Shinra scientists in general would be much the same.”    
  
“Yeah. Needles and medics too.” Cloud nodded, making an effort to not remember the scientist and techs from his time in the labs. Luckily he healed quickly and it was unlikely that he would need to go to the infirmary at all. If he was hurt badly enough for that, he could simply use a FullCure. “Sending me to the Forgotten Capital would probably be a bad idea too.” Sephiroth nodded, and Cloud was glad that he didn’t have to explain  _ that _ any further. “Nibelheim too.”    
  
“We had already agreed to avoid Nibelheim for now.” Sephiroth nodded anyway. “Anything else?”    
  
“Lots.” Cloud sighed, “But those are the big things. Though I don’t know how it’ll be if we’re fighting together for real.” He admitted.    
  
“You are worried that in the heat of battle you will attack me?” Sephiroth seemed surprised at that.    
  
“My instincts are still telling me to kill you.” Cloud shrugged, “A couple of decades of conditioning will do that.” He pointed out.    
  
“We only fought twice.” Sephiroth was frowning, looking down at his own cup.    
  
“Not in my nightmares. I associate you with death and destruction. Whenever I saw you, people died.  _ Lots _ of people.” On his lap, Khat moved, stretching before settling back down and peering up at him. He found himself absently scratching her head. “You’re not that man anymore. But you still  _ look _ like him.”    
  
“It is my hope that that feeling will fade with time.” Sephiroth spoke quietly.    
  
“I don’t.” Cloud’s declaration caused Sephiroth to look up at him with another frown, and he found himself explaining. “If you can’t resist Jenova’s call, I’m going to have to kill you. And I don’t think I’ll get a lucky hit in this time.” He shook his head. “We both hope it won't come to that, but I gotta be ready if it does.”    
  
Suddenly, it was a hard reality to face, but one that Cloud knew they might have to. It was starting to become easier and easier to separate this Sephiroth from the one he had locked blades with time and time again, that had stalked his dreams and plagued his waking thoughts. He was honestly starting to worry that if it kept going he wouldn’t be able to kill the man.    
  
If Sephiroth became his friend, he knew he would have trouble not holding back.    
  
“You know how I fight. If it comes down to it, I’m gonna have to be able to give it my all.”    
  
“Perhaps I should find someone else to augment your training.” Sephiroth mused out loud.    
  
“Who?” Cloud questioned, “You know how both Genesis and Angeal fight, and who else is good enough to teach me something that will work against you?”    
  
“Perhaps Zack?”    
  
Cloud groaned and dropped his head, “He’s so  _ young _ .” He muttered, “He’s nowhere near the level I remember him being at. At this point, I’d be surprised if he could take on a Zolom, let alone  _ you _ .”    
  
Sephiroth laughed a little. “Aside from the traumatic moments, how  _ was _ your mission with him?”   
  
“Honestly?” Cloud found himself smiling a little, looking down at the cat that had somehow wrangled neck scratches from him. “Weird. Don’t get me wrong, it was good to see him again.” And boy was that an understatement. “But he’s just a  _ kid _ . How did I forget how young he is?”    
  
“You were younger than him.” Sephiroth pointed out, “And a trooper. All SOLDIERs were far stronger than you were. Zack is no exception. That strength may have made him seem older.” Sephiroth was quiet for a moment. “And he has not had to face many of the traumas that he had in our time.”   
  
“Nibelheim doesn’t happen for months yet.”    
  
“Zack went through his fair share of horrors before ever stepping foot into Nibelheim.” Sephiroth said, voice once again quiet. “In the original timeline, he had already had to kill Angeal by now. This time, he was also spared from being sent to Wutai. He is care free simply because he hasn’t seen the horrors that life in Shinra can truly bring.”    
  
“He killed Angeal?”    
  
Sephiroth nodded. “While suffering from degradation, Angeal believed himself to have lost his honour. I believe he wanted to be… taken care of before he did anything truly horrific. To him, having Zack eliminate him was the most honourable option left to him. To be surpassed by his student.” He looked back up at Cloud, having spent the last few moments speaking to his tea cup. “How else do you think Zack came into possession of the Buster Sword?” 

  
That was a hard pill to swallow. To Angeal, it may have been an honourable thing, to have his protege put him down before he could do something he would regret, but to Cloud the idea was abhorrent.    
  
To  _ watch _ his mentor die was traumatic enough, but to have to  _ do _ it? It was a testament to how strong Zack truly was that that didn’t break him entirely. Cloud hadn’t been the one to end Zack’s life, but even watching it was enough to shatter his psyche into a thousand pieces. He could only imagine what Zack had been through.    
  
Suddenly, his mixed feelings towards Angeal made a little more sense. Zack had obviously held him in high regard, had looked up to him, maybe even thought of him as a pseudo father figure. But those feelings  _ must _ have been muddied by the ending.    
  
“I don’t like him.” He announced grimly.    
  
“Do not judge him too harshly for things that have yet to pass.” Sephiroth warned. “Degradation affects the mind, as well as the body. By the end, there was very little left that was truly him.”    
  
“I already didn’t like him.” Cloud muttered.    
  
“Why?”    
  
“No idea.” He shrugged, “I don’t think I even met him  _ before _ . Just this feeling I get around him.” Sephiroth was giving him a strange look and Cloud took a long breath, knowing that he was going to have to explain himself again.    
  
“After Zack died, I broke. My mind splintered and I couldn’t take it. After everything in the labs, the mako poisoning, Zack’s death was the last straw. I hid - in my own mind. Behind all the stories Zack told me. About being in SOLDIER, the missions he went on. I used those to create an illusion for myself. For a while, I believed  _ I _ had done those things. Thought  _ I _ was SOLDIER. I forgot all about my time in the labs… I forgot about Zack.” He paused for a moment to collect himself, using the cool tea as an excuse.    
  
“Even when everything was set straight, there were still some things I couldn’t figure out. My memories were all over the place. I didn’t know which were mine, and which I’d created from the stories I’d been told. Sometimes I still don’t.” He shrugged, keeping his eyes on Khat so he wouldn’t have to look at the judgement on Sephiroth’s face. “It’s not always a concrete thing. Sometimes it’s just thoughts and feelings that aren’t quite mine.”   
  
“And your feelings towards Angeal?”    
  
“Muddy at best.” Cloud admitted. “I  _ knew  _ they weren’t mine. Or… some of them might be? I don’t know. All I know is that I associate him with pain.” He shook his head and let out a breath. “Makes it hard to form a new opinion.”    
  
“This sounds like PTSD.” Sephiroth said carefully.    
  
Cloud let out a huff of amusement and leaned back on his seat, his hand making an aborted movement towards his head. A habit he’d picked up from Zack. “Yeah. That’s what Reeve thought too. Kept trying to get me to ‘talk’ to someone.”    
  
“Reeve? Tsuesti?” Sephiroth was frowning in confusion. “I wasn’t aware that you knew him.”    
  
Coud let out another laugh. Imagine not knowing who exactly it was that  _ killed _ you.    
  
“He was the robot cat.” He said, laughing again as Sephiroth’s confusion only seemed to grow and decided then and there that he wasn’t going to explain that one any further. Sephiroth could figure it out for himself.   
  
He caught sight of the clock on the wall and finished his tea. “I should get back.” He muttered, “Lights out in ten.” He could make it, if he left  _ now _ . Otherwise he would need written permission from Sephiroth like a tardy child in school. He didn’t relish the idea of spending the night around his bunkmates, but he had little choice in the matter. Hopefully they would leave him alone.    
  
Something must have shown, on what little of his face Sephiroth could see, because the general shook his head. “You can stay here. You’re small enough to fit on the couch.” And didn’t Cloud just  _ hate  _ that.    
  
It wasn't exactly a small couch, but the unintended insult was still there. Cloud  _ knew _ he was short, he didn’t need Sephiroth pointing it out.    
  
Still, he was torn. For some reason, he always slept better when he was around Sephiroth. At first, he had chalked it up to the fact that he wasn’t surrounded by people who hated him (which was still somewhat strange to him. That Sephiroth  _ didn’t _ hate him.) but after his night at the stables with Zack, he knew that that wasn’t the case.    
  
But sleeping near him in the field was a far cry from staying over at his  _ home _ . And while it didn’t feel like it, Cloud knew that he should consider the apartment enemy territory.    
  
“If it will make you feel better, I can leave Masamune by the door.” Sephiroth offered, gesturing to where the blade currently stood.    
  
“It’s not that…” Cloud sighed, not entirely sure how he could sum up how the weird feeling of safety around Sephiroth made him uneasy. Especially since it was the fact that the unease came from the  _ lack _ of discomfort around the man.    
  
“Khat will be most displeased if you leave.”    
  
“Are you  _ trying _ to get me to stay?” Cloud asked, confused.    
  
Sephiroth just shrugged, “For some reason, I sleep better when you are nearby.”    
  
What?    
  
“Huh?”    
  
That didn’t make sense to Cloud. It wasn’t like Sephiroth had semi-hostile people living with him. He would be alone, in one of the most safeguarded buildings in the city, surrounded by other SOLDIERs. Any intruder would have a hard time getting to Sephiroth’s apartment, and it would take a Turk of Vincent’s calibre to do so without notice. Why would having Cloud around make him sleep  _ better _ ? Especially since they’d already established that Cloud was possibly going to have to kill him.    
  
“You have too much honour to kill me while I sleep. You are more likely to protect me than slaughter me.” Well. Sephiroth had a point. Even if Sephiroth was trying to end the world again, killing him in his sleep just seemed  _ wrong _ . “Though it may have more to do with the Jenova cells than any goodwill between us.”    
  
That was something Cloud had never considered. If the Jenova cells could trigger the Reunion instinct, then it kind of made sense that he would be more at ease around others that shared them. That opened a whole new avenue of thought - one that might explain at least some of his contradictory feelings surrounding his relationship with Sephiroth.    
  
“Though I should warn you that if you try to climb into my bed, I will likely react poorly.”    
  
It took Cloud a moment to realize that once again, Sephiroth was making a joke. He really wasn’t very good at them - the delivery was all wrong and it always took Cloud a moment or two to realize that he wasn’t serious.    
  
“Yeah. No thanks. There are a thousand beds I’d climb into before yours.”    
  
“Are you sure? It is a rather lovely bed.”    
  
Cloud rolled his eyes and shook his head. A joking Sephiroth was something that was difficult to get used to. “The couch will do fine.”    
  
\-- -- -- -- -- --    
  
Exhaustion was pulling at Cloud, and after a quick, awkwardly shared meal, he found himself tucked into far too many blankets ready to sleep. Sephiroth had offered him something more comfortable to sleep in, but he had quickly refused feeling like that was a boundary he wasn’t quite ready to cross yet.    
  
That, and there was no way that he would fit into any of Sephiroth’s clothing.    
  
He debated on whether or not he should keep his helmet on, but eventually the choice was taken from him when he crashed unceremoniously into slumber.    
  
\-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --    
  
_ “I’ll be going now. I’ll be back when it’s all over.” _ _   
_ _   
_ Images assaulted him. One after another. Aerith in the woods. On the altar. Holy falling. A sword piercing her chest.    
  
_ “Mine’s not good for anything at all.” _   
  
He reached for her, the world shifting and changing around him until he lay on his back, the scent of flowers in his nose.    
  
_ “Hellllooooo!” _   
  
He opened his eyes and he was on the cliffside, Zack clinging to life in front of him.    
  
_ “My honour. My dreams…”  _   
  
Outside Shinra HQ, surrounded by other infantrymen, watching as Zack strode along the line.    
  
_ “So. You wanna be in SOLDIER?” _   
  
It was raining. Drops landing heavy on his face, hiding the tears that were streaming down his cheeks.    
  
_ “You should have… An older girlfriend. One that will look after you. _ ”    
  
Flames. Heat. Everywhere. Surrounded. It burned his skin. His eyes. His mother’s voice cut off in strangled pain as she burned.   
  
_ “Specimen C is a failure. But no need to waste it. I should be able to learn-” _ _   
_ _   
_ Needles. Pain. Suffocation. Liquid burning his lungs. His vision swam with distorted labs.    
  
Everything fading into darkness.    
  
.   
.   
.   
.   
.   
  
“You’re okay now.”    
  
He blinked his eyes open again, expecting to see the cold walls of the labs, the waters of the Forgotten City, the Midgar Wastes, Nibelheim in flames. He expected pain and suffering. Instead he found calm. Peace.    
  
Flowers bloomed as far as the eye could see, fading into the pale white of the horizon. He knew this place, he’d been here before.   
  
  
  
He could feel her at his back, warmth and serenity radiating from her. He ached to turn around, to reach for her and hold her close, but he knew he couldn’t. To see her would shatter the illusion and send him hurtling back into the unforgiving darkness that she had plucked him from.    
  
“This time it’ll be better.”    
  
It took him an age to find his voice, but time didn’t seem to matter. She waited patiently, as if knowing that he needed to say something, to ask. “How can you be sure?” There was so much more that he wanted to say to her, but he had said it all before. She knew him better than he knew himself. Knew his mind. His thoughts.    
  
His guilt.   
  
“Because you’ll never stop trying. You will always fight for those you cherish.”    
  
He would. He knew he would. But he  _ had _ . He had done everything he could to fight, to protect, but in the end he had failed. Failed Zack. Failed Aerith. Failed himself.    
  
“Silly Billy.” She taunted, a laugh in her voice. “You’re stronger this time.”    
  
Physically maybe. He had the enhancements of a First Class SOLDIER, and the skill to back them up. He knew that. But mentally? He’d broken down multiple times in the last few days alone. He was hurtling into a never ending spiral of unforgiving despair. He was shattering under the weight of the world he was tasked to save.    
  
“It’s okay to worry.” She continued, as if she could read his mind. He wouldn’t discount the possibility. “But you should have faith in yourself.” If only. If only he could feel the same faith, the same  _ confidence _ that his friends seemed to feel about him. That he could do what needed to be done.    
  
“I let everybody down.” He argued, not willing to give up the blame he held. Even if his friends never thought it was his fault, he knew better. He had been the one to hand over Black Materia. He had been the one to just stand there as Aerith was slain. He had just  _ sat _ there, unmoving while Zack fought for their freedom, their  _ lives. _   
  
He could feel her shake her head, her braid brushing against his back. “No. You didn’t.” She said it so easily, like it was a simple fact. He felt a hand on his arm, directly where the Geostigma had once plagued him.    
  
“Remember that you’re not alone. You’re not the only one fighting this time.” The hand squeezed his bicep and he wanted nothing more than to reach for it, to hold it. To cling to the only person that he felt truly, honestly believed in him. Even after everything, he knew that her trust in him was still pure. It was incomprehensible, but it was  _ real _ .    
  
“I’ll be going now.”    
  
His heart lurched, and with her final words the world around him dissipated, fading into a nothing that was more comforting than ominous. He allowed himself to float for a while, to drift in the peace that only she could give him.    
  
He almost didn’t hear the distant words that followed him.    
  
“I’ll be back. Before it’s all over.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for the comments! I love them all! It definitely helps keep me going, and sometimes even sparks ideas or reminds me of things I might have missed. (Especially when I write multiple chapters at once). Please, do keep them coming. I treasure every single one of them from the super long, to the "extra kudos". 
> 
> And as an added bonus, Cory has some cat treats hidden that I will raid. For every comment in this chapter, my cat (who is the IRL inspiration for Khat - join our discord for pics) will get one treat!!


	10. Pillow Theft and Paperwork

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter may not feel as polished as usual. I'm in a little hurry and wanted to post it today before I run out of time. Sorry if it's not up to its usual quality.

The next morning, Cloud woke with a full bladder and a confused mind. His dreams lingered in the way that dreams did - most of it disappearing within moments of being awake. All he could really remember was the feeling of intense hope and anxiety.   
  
He didn’t really have time to think about it, however, his body demanding the bathroom _now_. With a soft grumble, he fought his way out of the copious number of blankets Sephiroth had dumped on him and made his way to the general’s room.   
  
The only bathroom was an ensuite, which made things a little difficult. He wasn’t exactly going to burst through the door - who knew how Sephiroth would react to that. Instead, he politely knocked, hoping that the man would answer quickly.   
  
The door swung open to reveal a less than pleased Sephiroth. His hair was pulled back into a messy braid and his sleep clothes looked disheveled. But Cloud wasn’t paying a whole lot of attention to that. Instead, he was concentrating on the look on the man’s face.   
  
If he hadn’t already _known_ what Sephiroth looked like when he was about to commit murder, he would have very easily thought that this was it. Those green eyes were narrowed into a steely glare that was leveled at Cloud.   
  
“What?” He barked.   
  
“Uh. Need to pee?” Cloud answered, still feeling a little put off by Sephiroth’s apparent temper.   
  
“Whatever.” The man turned his back on Cloud and stumbled back into his bed, leaving the door wide open. Cloud took that as permission and rushed to the bathroom to relieve himself. As soon as he was done, he quickly made his way back through Sephiroth’s room and into the living room.   
  
Behind him, Sephiroth seemed to have gone back to sleep, so Cloud shut the bedroom door.   
  
He was half way through feeding Khat when the door to the apartment burst open to reveal Genesis. The man seemed taken aback to find Cloud there and stared at him for a moment before apparently deciding that he didn’t care.   
  
“Sephiroth here?” He questioned, and Cloud just pointed to the bedroom.   
  
“He’s in a mood.” He warned.   
  
“Of course he is. He doesn’t have any missions today.” Genesis replied flippantly before bursting his way into Sephiroth’s room.   
  
Cloud stared after him for a moment, wondering why having no missions would upset Sephiroth _quite_ that much. The man had looked like he was wanting to _burn_ something. Well. No. He didn’t _quite_ have that look. Cloud was familiar with that look.   
  
But it was close.   
  
He heard voices from Sephiroth’s room. Genesis’ being much louder than Sephiroth’s.   
  
“Oh dear, I know.” The man spoke mockingly, “But it’s morning. Time to rise and shine!”   
  
A sudden burst of light filled what Cloud could see of the room through the open door, so he assumed that Genesis had pulled the curtains open. There were odd sounds, a snort of laughter from Genesis, and then the man reappeared.   
  
“How do you take your coffee?” He questioned, acting like it was completely normal for him to leave his superior officer’s personal bedroom carrying what looked to be his pillow.   
  
“Uh.” Cloud just stared at him for a moment before realizing that the man had asked him a question - most likely so that he could make him said coffee. “Black…?” He answered.   
  
He watched as Genesis pottered around the kitchen one handed - the other was still clutching the dark pillow - and set about making two coffee’s and a tea. By the time he had handed Cloud his coffee and begun to drink his own, Sephiroth finally appeared.   
  
“New record.” Genesis remarked, looking at the clock with a smirk.   
  
“Shut up.” Sephiroth grumbled, grabbing the final cup before downing it in one go. “Why are you here?”   
  
“Because if I _didn’t_ wake you, you would sleep until noon.”   
  
“It’s my day _off_.” Sephiroth countered, sounding every bit the petulant teenager. Genesis just rolled his eyes and switched the electric kettle on again.   
  
From watching them, Cloud could surmise that this was something that happened on a semi regular basis.   
  
“You… really don’t like to wake up, do you?” Cloud questioned, watching Sephiroth and unsure what to feel. This didn’t seem to fit the man he once knew, but he was slowly coming to terms with the fact that this Sephiroth was an entirely different person.   
  
Sephiroth just glared at him, as if wondering why he had the nerve to speak while Sephiroth was so tired. “You’ve _met_ my parents. How is this a surprise to you?” He questioned. And fair. He had a point. The moment Lucrecia had realized she couldn’t kill herself, she had locked herself away in an eternal slumber and his father…   
  
Well. Cloud was rather sure that Vincent’s little nap would have gone on indefinitely had he not woken him.   
  
“Fair.” Cloud shrugged, only then noticing the absolutely befuddled look on Genesis’ face.   
  
“You’ve met his parents?” His question went unanswered by Sephiroth and just received another shrug from Cloud. This wasn’t something he wanted to discuss with him. It would just bring up even more questions.   
  
Sephiroth, however, seemed to decide to answer after a long moment. “We were born in the same town.” Which was quickly followed by the command, “Pillow.” and an outstretched hand.   
  
“Nope. You threw it at me. It’s mine now.” Genesis clutched the pillow to his chest, as if it was a priceless treasure in danger of being stolen. He even stuck his tongue out at the unimpressed general. “I thought you were born in Midgar.”  
  
  
  
“I never said that. Pillow.”   
  
“Answers.”   
  
And then, they fell into complete silence, leaving Cloud free to stare at them both. This seemed… oddly domestic. And routine. Did this happen a lot? Slowly, he started to back away. Not only to give them a little space, but also because it was just far too strange of an occurrence for him to think about.   
  
Instead, he busied himself with folding the blankets that he had left spread over the couch. This, at least, seemed to distract Genesis from his current confusion, and the man moved to peek over the sofa. “Did you sleep here?” He questioned.   
  
Again, Cloud just shrugged. He wasn’t exactly a morning person himself lately - probably due to teenage hormones or whatever - and he didn’t really have the energy to get into a conversation with Genesis. This morning had already been too weird.   
  
“Is nobody going to answer _anything_?” Said man questioned with a dramatic sigh. The moment Cloud had cleared a space on the sofa, Genesis threw himself into it and looked at the two of them.   
  
“We had an altercation.” Sephiroth muttered as he took his usual seat, clutching a newly made cup of tea.   
  
Genesis looked at him for a moment before turning his eyes on Cloud. “And you’re _alive_?”  
  
Another shrug from Cloud as he kept his hands busy folding the blankets.   
  
“Talkative.” Genesis quipped before turning his attention back to Sephiroth. “Well?”   
  
“I have endured more than a decade of both yourself and Angeal telling me to use my _words_ , and when I do you question it?” At least Sephiroth was starting to sound like himself again. More awake for sure. Good. Maybe he could figure out a way for Genesis to leave. Or at least give Cloud a reason to.   
  
“You talked it out?” Genesis didn’t sound like he believed Sephiroth, and it occurred to Cloud that this morning must have been just as bizarre for Genesis as it was for him.   
  
“It wouldn’t do for me to murder my student for a minor mishap.”   
  
“Minor? Seph, your face is covered in bruises!”   
  
“And had you come at a reasonable time, they would have healed before you even saw them.”   
  
“It’s ten am, dear. Perfectly reasonable.”   
  
Genesis’ words caused Cloud to quickly look up at the clock. To his astonishment, the man was right, they had slept in _late_. “Shit.” He muttered, throwing the blankets back on the couch, “My debriefing’s at half past.” He explained as he rushed from the door, more than a little glad to get away from the _weird_.   
  
\-- -- -- -- -- -- --  
  
Luckily, Cloud had managed to make it to Angeal’s office before ten thirty, thankful that the office was only a few feet from Sephiroth’s and he knew where he was going. He was prepared to see Zack, or at least, he thought he was. Still, upon walking into the office and being greeted by the excited SOLDIER, he had a moment of disconnect.   
  
He wondered how long it would take for him to get used to seeing Zack alive and well.   
  
“Morning Cloud!” Zack was very obviously a morning person. Or at least, he hadn’t slept in and had time to wake up.   
  
“Morning.” He replied before taking the seat that Angeal indicated.   
  
Angeal’s office was quite a bit different from Sephiroth’s. For one, there were multiple chairs in front of the desk, and a couch in the corner. For another, there were plants. Lots of plants. And none of them looked plastic. How much had it cost for him to get those in Midgar?   
  
“Good morning.” Angeal greeted them both and Cloud forced himself to give his attention to the man.   
  
The strange feelings were still there, bubbling under his skin. Adoration and disappointment warring away within him, not helped at all by the information he’d received the night before. Hopefully Sephiroth was right, and the man had been changed by degradation. That would be his only saving grace, and the only way that Cloud would ever be able to even start to like him.   
  
“Your mission was performed admirably.” Angeal was saying, “You returned to Midgar much faster than anticipated, and made the correct decision to wait out the night somewhere safe. We had expected you to do so at Fort Condor, it’s impressive that you managed to make it to the chocobo farm before then.”   
  
“Where?” Zack asked, tilting his head to the side like a confused pup.   
  
“The tower.” Cloud found himself answering. “The one we saw in the distance.” It was then that he noticed the look Angeal was giving him, as if the man was trying to figure out how Cloud could know the name of the place. He just shrugged, “It was the only thing between where we were and the farm.” He explained, writing his knowledge off as a guess.   
  
Angeal nodded, apparently happy with that answer. “Fort Condor would have been a more comfortable place to spend the night.” He admitted. “You were supremely lucky that you were able to come across not just one, but _three_ chocobos.”   
  
“I think it was the same one.” Cloud told him, “Was probably curious.” He hoped, _really_ hoped, that he wouldn’t have to explain that he was able to summon one. Not without being able to produce a Chocobo Lure materia.   
  
Angeal didn’t look convinced, but he dropped it. Probably thinking that Cloud honestly thought that.   
  
“As it stands, your mission was a success.” Angeal pulled the conversation back to where it was supposed to be.   
  
“We didn’t lose points for stopping in Kalm?” Zack asked, apprehensively and Cloud remembered the worry that Zack had had before he managed to convince him that they needed to eat.   
  
“No. Taking care of your basic needs while travelling for an unknown time was the right call to make. To be able to stop and rest in a safe location is something that a lot of SOLDIERs take a long time to learn when given a time sensitive task. Nobody knows exactly what will happen in the future.” Cloud had to stop himself from laughing at that, given that he knew a lot of how the future was supposed to go. “Had you not stopped, and run into trouble while also fighting hunger, things could have gone badly.” Angeal seemed to be in full on lecture mode now, and once again Cloud was struck by the idea that this was something that happened often.   
  
His memories of these people were muddled and confusing, and it was only now that Cloud realized that he hadn’t known a lot about their day to day lives. Somehow, seeing Genesis and Sephiroth bicker, and Angeal lecture his student, made them all seem more human.   
  
“Zack, I want your report by the end of the day.” Angeal told him, “And do try to be more concise than last time. I don’t need to know what you had for lunch.”   
  
The exasperated tone in Angeal’s voice made Cloud chuckle under his breath. The man looked like this was far from the first time he had had to tell Zack that.   
  
“You got it!” Zack responded with far more energy than was necessary. He seemed to take that as a dismissal and stood. Cloud made to follow him, but was stopped by Angeal.   
  
“A moment, Strife.”   
  
Confused, Cloud retook his seat and shared a look with Zack, who just shrugged at him and left.   
  
“Sir?” Cloud turned his attention back to Angeal, wondering what he had done wrong. Had he given something away? Did Angeal have questions he shouldn’t have? He wracked his brain trying to think back on something that he might have said for the man to become suspicious.   
  
“You are aware that I was watching your mission?” Angeal questioned, and Cloud felt his heart drop more. He nodded, trying to figure out if he had been found out. He needed to be more careful! “While there were moments that were disturbing, you conducted yourself very well. You took charge in a way that made sure Zack didn’t even notice. You assessed risk and made plans for it. I will admit to some misgivings about Sephiroth choosing you to mentor, but you proved yourself in that mission. You acted like a SOLDIER. You have a lot of potential and I want to talk to Sephiroth about recommending that you join our ranks.”   
  
Cloud’s heart dropped for an entirely different reason. Joining SOLDIER was not something he wanted to do, nor was it something he _could_ do. The moment he came across the scientist in charge of the Mako showers, he was finished. There was no way he could hide his enhancements from the science department, and that would raise questions that he had no hope of answering.   
  
He could tell that something was wrong with his reaction by the look Angeal gave him. A considering, slightly confused look. “Most people in your position would be ecstatic.” He commented.   
  
“I just… don’t think I’m ready…” Cloud tried, speaking through a tight throat.   
  
“I agree.” Angeal said with a nod, confusing Cloud with his 180.   
  
“But you just said-”   
  
“Yes. I do want to recommend you join SOLDIER, but it wouldn’t be for a while. You exhibited some concerning behaviour near the end of your mission. You froze for no discernible reason. Until we can figure out why that was, you won’t be able to progress among the ranks.”   
  
Right. That.   
  
“On top of that, I have a report from Genesis that you assaulted Sephiroth last night.”   
  
Shit.   
  
Well that wasn’t good. How had news traveled so fast? There was no way that Genesis could have got here to talk to Angeal before Cloud did. He must have sent him a message or something. Cloud kept forgetting that other people actually answer their phones.  
  
“Uh…” Angeal was waiting for a reply - or an explanation. One which Cloud didn’t have. “He pissed me off..?” was all he could think of saying.   
  
“We both know that had it been a real fight, Sephiroth would have won. The fact that he didn’t retaliate says a lot about you.”   
  
“It does?”   
  
“Yes.” Angeal nodded, “It means he respects you, perhaps even likes you. The fact that he then allowed you to remain in his apartment for the night also speaks strongly of his affection towards you.”   
  
Okay. Not where Cloud thought this was going. He was sure he was going to get reprimanded. Or at least lectured. But the way Angeal was smiling slightly made him think that maybe he wasn’t in as much trouble as he thought.   
  
“As you can imagine, we cannot condone violence towards a superior officer.” Angeal continued, “But unless Sephiroth reports it, there is little to be done. However, should I learn about another assault, you won’t be let off so lightly.”   
  
Okay, that was unexpected. But then, this entire day had been filled with the unexpected. Maybe he should start to expect _that._   
  
“I understand sir.”   
  
“Sephiroth often makes people wish to hit him, but you need to control that urge.” Cloud nodded and Angeal was quiet for a moment, “That being said,” He continued slowly, “With everything that has happened so far, it seems that Sephiroth holds you in high regard. Very few people can say to have that honour. Tread lightly and don’t squander it. You will not appreciate the consequences.”  
  
Wait. Was that a ‘don’t hurt him or I’ll hurt you’ threat? It was veiled as a warning, but no, that was definitely a threat. Sephiroth did say that he counted Angeal as one of his only friends, so it made sense that the man would want to protect him, but again, this was something unexpected.   
  
“I won't, sir.” Cloud responded, surprised by his own conviction.   
  
\-- -- -- -- -- -- --   
  
An hour later, Cloud found himself sitting once again in Sephiroth’s apartment. The man was casually sitting on his chair reading a book while Cloud tried to figure out how exactly to write a mission report.   
  
As a trooper, it wasn’t something that had been expected of him, but Angeal had expressed to him that he would need to do them from now on. Especially if he was sent on SOLDIER missions. When Cloud had asked for instructions on how to write one Angeal had sent him off to find Sephiroth, claiming that it was something a mentor was supposed to teach.   
  
Sephiroth, however, was being entirely unhelpful in the matter. As soon as Cloud had asked, Sephiroth refused point blank. Apparently he held his days off sacred and wouldn’t waste it with paperwork that wasn’t even his. But he had invited him to fill out the forms in his apartment rather than in his own bunk.   
  
So now, they were sitting in silence absorbed in their own tasks as Khat settled beside each one in turn. She would spend a few minutes with one before deciding to bother the other, and seemed more than a little put out that Cloud wouldn’t allow her to sit on his paperwork.   
  
He shooed her off it again before groaning. “What’s the point in all of this?” He questioned, “Angeal was _there_. He saw everything.”   
  
“Accounts of situations vary depending on the observer.” Sephiroth answered without even looking up from his book. He lifted it a little so that Khat could settle on his lap for the third time in the hour and adjusted his position to accommodate her. “Having everybody write a report allows for a greater understanding.”   
  
“I’m not exactly a writer.” Cloud grumbled, leaning back on the couch and running his hand over his face. He had dropped the helmet almost the moment he had arrived, after being assured by Sephiroth that neither Angeal nor Genesis were likely to show up until the evening.   
  
“Bullet points will suffice.”   
  
This just made Cloud groan in frustration again. “You couldn’t have told me that an hour ago?” He questioned, leaning forward to reach for the dreaded paperwork again.   
  
“There are still times I like to see you suffer.” Came the flippant reply.  
  
“If this is the kind of paperwork you’re always stuck with, it’s no wonder you went nuts.” Cloud mumbled, picking up his pen to hopefully finish this soon. “Okay, what do I _have_ to write?”  
  
Sephiroth heaved a put upon sigh and closed his book. He placed it on the small table beside his chair and turned his attention to Cloud, his left hand idly stroking Khat’s back. “A summary of events. Suggestions on how you could have done better, especially if things went wrong. Angeal is easy to please when it comes to paperwork and prefers a concise recollection.”   
  
“Yeah, he said that to Zack.” Cloud frowned and wrote a quick outline of the events of the mission. After he was done, he looked up at Sephiroth who was once again reading his book.   
  
“I feel like I’m in school.” He muttered as he stood and handed the paper over to Sephiroth. “This do?” He questioned.   
  
“I wasn’t aware that Nibelheim had a school.” Sephiroth remarked as he took the page and began to skim through it.   
  
“Didn’t. Remedial classes when I got to Midgar.” There had been a minimum standard in literacy and numeracy for all recruits, and the ‘education’ in Nibelheim had been lacking. It had largely been left up to individual parents to teach their children, and Cloud’s mother hadn’t been the best of teachers.   
  
The other children in Nibelheim had been taught by the mayor, but that hadn’t exactly been an option for Cloud after the events on the mountain. The mayor wasn’t his biggest fan.   
  
“This will be sufficient.” Sephiroth handed the page back to Cloud and again put his book down. “Would you care for some lunch?” He asked, gently patting Khat’s backside thrice. The animal jumped off his lap with a soft chirp and went straight to Cloud who had sat back in his own seat.   
  
“As long as you don’t poison me.” He muttered, only half joking.   
  
Sephiroth let it go and made his way to the kitchen as Cloud carefully gathered the few pages he had spread over the table - taking extra effort to make sure he didn’t dislodge the cat happily purring on his lap.   
  
\-- -- -- -- --   
  
Lunch was served twenty minutes later. Cloud had already packed up his report, ready to give to Angeal later in the day, and spent lunch idly patting Khat.   
  
“You have the rest of the day off, correct?” Sephiroth asked about ten minutes into lunch.   
  
“Yeah, soon as I hand this in.” Cloud gestured to the folder he’d left on the table.   
  
“Then perhaps now is a good time to talk about Nibelheim?”   
  
That was a long overdue conversation, Cloud would admit, but after the last couple of days it was the _last_ thing he wanted to talk about. He knew that Sephiroth wasn’t meaning the town itself, but rather the _incident_. His emotions were already raw, and he honestly didn’t have the energy.   
  
“I’d rather not.” He muttered, shoving more food into his mouth so he wouldn’t have to speak again for a while. He had expected Sephiroth to object, to want to get it over and done with, instead, the man seemed to take Cloud’s reluctance in his stride.   
  
“Very well.” He took a bite of his own food, and once done, he spoke again. “Do you have any other plans for today?”   
  
“Not really.” Cloud admitted. “Days off are kinda boring.”   
  
Sephiroth nodded in understanding. “I used to think so too.” He admitted, “But having been given a second lease on life, I found that I had previously taken them for granted.”   
  
“What did you used to do?” For once, Cloud was honestly curious. If he could figure out how Sephiroth used to spend his own days off, maybe that would give him inspiration. He had no idea what he’d done to occupy himself during the original timeline - his memories of that time were sketchy at best - and Midgar had become a little oppressive.   
  
After everything that had happened, his delivery business had been perfect to keep him occupied. His days off were few and far between, and usually spent with the children until they had grown up. Then, he had grown old enough to appreciate the peace that tending to Aerith’s flowers had brought him.   
  
That wasn’t an option now. Not only was she being watched by the Turks, but Cloud knew for a fact that he wasn’t ready to face her. Not in the least. Being around a Zack that had no memory of him was hard enough, but Aerith… No. He couldn’t go and see her. Not until he’d fulfilled his mission and could be sure that she would be safe.   
  
“I rarely took the time to have one.” Sephiroth brought him back from his musings. “When I did, they were usually spent with Angeal and Genesis. We would spar often, until Genesis was too injured to continue.”  
  
That wasn’t too helpful. Unless Cloud could find someone to regularly spar with that wouldn’t notice his skills being too high. He briefly considered asking Genesis, but shot that down right away when he realized that the man would probably spend the entire session quoting Loveless.   
  
Zack was out. There was no way that he was good enough to stand up to Cloud, and there would be far too many chances for another flashback and he didn’t need to have that happen again. Especially with the way that Zack seemed to worry about him. Some things never changed at least.   
  
And he still couldn’t stand Angeal.   
  
That left only one real option, but it was probably a bad one. They had already ascertained that he and Sephiroth were too familiar with each other, and he really should be finding new techniques to make sure he could defeat him.   
  
“You’re allowed to leave Midgar, right?” Cloud asked.   
  
“Yes. I have to report my destination before I leave, and not go so far as to be unable to report for duty. But otherwise I am free to come and go as I please.”   
  
“Lucky for some.” Cloud muttered, still not happy about the fact that he was forced to remain within the city unless on a mission. “Wanna go kill something?” He suggested, hopeful that Sephiroth would sacrifice the rest of his day off to let Cloud blow off some steam.   
  
“What did you have in mind?” Sephiroth asked, putting his plate down to give Cloud his full attention.   
  
Not one to waste an opportunity, Khat was quickly on the table, lapping at the sauce that Sephiroth had spilled on his plate. She got maybe two licks in before Sephiroth shoved her off the table with an admonishment.   
  
“Dunno. Wanna try something a little more challenging than a pack of wolves.” Cloud admitted, “Maybe a Zolom?”   
  
“There are far better challenges in the training room.” Sephiroth pointed out. “It would take us most of the day to arrive at the Marshes.” He added when he saw Cloud about to protest.   
  
“Yeah, but the training room is monitored.” Cloud mumbled, “I wanna let loose. Can’t we take a helicopter or something?” He was far too used to being able to travel as far as he wanted, and being stuck in one place for almost two months was starting to make him itch.  
  
“Even my privileges have limits.” Sephiroth explained, “I would require a reason better than letting my student ‘let loose’.”   
  
“Call it educational?” Okay, so now Cloud was pleading with Sephiroth to escort him out of the city. There was no way that the general hadn’t noticed that.   
  
Instead of replying, Sephiroth pulled his phone from the pocket of his sweatpants and scrolled through it for a moment. “There is a mission available to the Mideel region. We can take that, if you can wait until tomorrow.”   
  
Cloud sighed in defeat and gave up. He nodded, refusing to show that he was actually thankful for the idea. He could wait until tomorrow. Hopefully he wouldn’t feel the need to kill his bunkmates before the morning.   
  
He did contemplate sleeping on Sephiroth’s couch again, but quickly decided against it. There were probably already rumours about the fact that he’d spent the night, he didn’t need to add more. One time, it was excusable. He was Sephiroth’s student and had just returned from a mission. But twice in a row? That was unlikely to be forgiven so easily. There were already rumours about him sleeping his way up the ranks.   
  
In hindsight, sleeping with Genesis probably _really_ didn’t help.  
  
That, and he didn’t want to sleep in again.   
  
“Fine. Tomorrow it is.” Now all he had to do was figure out what to do with the rest of his day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the last chapter netted my cat 21 treats. She's gonna be very happy. Thank you all!! (Join our discord for pics of my cat :))
> 
> Also, the next chapter is Lore Heavy, specifically around materia. It might also help if you're familiar with FFX lore, since I'm adding some of that in this fic.
> 
> No major spoilers for FFX though. Maybe a minor one, if you squint (in regards to how Aeons/Summons are made). 
> 
> You don't need to have played FFX, but you might get some of the small (meta) jokes if you have.


	11. Materia Theory 101

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is some FFX lore in this chapter. You don't have to have played the game to read this. 
> 
> This chapter is kind of a filler, but it works as a kind of lore dump. If you have any questions about the materia lore, let me know. I'll answer what I can. This actually got read by a few people first, so that I could have feedback. One person knows little about FFVII, and the other is all but an expert (my good man, Zeke, helping me with twisting FFVII lore for years now. Lots of lengthy discussions have been had.)
> 
> Sorry it's a little late this week - I lost the charger for my chromebook (found it now :)). 
> 
> Again, I decided to try out some art. The first piece is by Cory, and the second by me. Don't judge mine too harshly, I've only been drawing for about 6 months lol.

As it turned out, Shinra had a materia available that Cloud had never even heard of, let alone mastered. His excitement at the idea was short lived when he realized that it was all manufactured. Still, he didn’t know if his new found ability to cast without help would extend to artificial materia.   
  
So with the help of Sephiroth’s keycard, he signed himself out a Dark Firaga, curious about what it would do. He then waited patiently for the VR room to be empty and spent the rest of the day attempting to level up the materia, cursing at the difficulties that using fake materia caused.   
  
That was where Genesis found him, close to evening. Cloud very much didn’t want to talk to the man. He knew that he had questions, and he had no idea what Sephiroth had told him after he’d left and didn’t want to contradict him.   
  
He hoped that he could steer the conversation away from any curiosities the man had. Hell, he’d rather talk about _Loveless_ at this point.   
  
“I’m in a mood.” Cloud tried to verbally push Genesis away, but it didn’t work.   
  
The Crimson Commander still came into the room and leaned against the wall.   
  
“I can see that." Genesis remarked, watching Cloud once again throw a spell at the practice dummy. "I’m curious to see if your ability with magic has improved.” The man said simply.   
  
“The artificial stuff is shit.” Cloud grumbled. “It’s like it’s actively working _against_ me.”   
  
“It is.” Genesis pushed himself off the wall and moved to join Cloud, holding his hand out for the orb. Cloud handed it over, and Genesis raised an eyebrow. “Where did you get this?”  
  
“From the Materia Room…”   
  
“Perhaps you should try something a little more beginner friendly.” Genesis pocketed the materia and Cloud sighed. He had signed it out as a temporary thing, and technically it should have gone straight to Sephiroth. He was supposed to take it back when he was done with it.   
  
Genesis fished something out of his pocket and handed Cloud an orb of Fire materia. That wasn’t all that helpful, considering that Cloud had mastered more than one of those. He wondered if Genesis would be able to tell that Cloud wasn't using it.   
  
  
  
Still, he had to save face, and he took the materia. As soon as it landed in his hand, he knew that it was artificial and he grimaced. It just felt _wrong_ to hold something so fake.   
  
“Interesting…” Genesis was watching his reactions and Cloud made a mental note to be more careful. He didn’t want to give too much away.   
  
“What’s interesting?”  
  
“Most people are unable to tell the difference between natural and manufactured materia so easily.” Genesis stepped back, still eyeing Cloud. “Can you tell me the difference?”   
  
“One is formed by the slow condensing of mako, the other was thrown together by scientists who probably can’t tell a Fira from a Flare.”   
  
“Now, now, the experts are a little more competent than that.” Genesis admonished with a smirk. “And that was not what I was referring to. Tell me, what is the difference in the _feeling_?”  
  
Cloud paused to think. The answer came easily to him, but that would give away far too much. He was supposed to be a novice, having only used a stray piece of materia found on the mountain before. There was no way that he should be considered an expert, and he definitely couldn’t tell Genesis that it felt like manufactured materia had been shunned by the planet.   
  
“The manufactured stuff feels… I dunno… Hollow?” He tried to sound clueless while still giving Genesis enough of an answer to please him.   
  
Genesis nodded, still watching Cloud. “Close your eyes.” He ordered, and with some reluctance, Cloud did so. It was only after Genesis started to talk again that he realized that the man had no way of knowing if he complied or not, thanks to his helmet.   
  
Something was placed in his other hand. Restore. Natural. He frowned, trying to figure out what Genesis was getting at.   
  
“Now, how do they feel different?”   
  
Cloud paused, again trying to think of how to put things in a way that someone who wasn’t knowledgeable could. The Restore materia in his left hand felt _right_ in a way that was difficult to describe. It offered him the same feeling of peace that he had felt during his last brief stint in the lifestream.   
  
“The restore feels…” He tried to think of something, and his hesitation was only working for him. It looked like he was trying to ‘feel’ the materia, rather than just trying to figure out what he was going to say. “Safe.” Well. That would do.   
  
It wasn’t a lie. Restorative materia always felt at least a little safe. Some more than others. That was one of the reasons he used to tuck a Barrier orb under Denzel’s pillow when the boy had nightmares.   
  
“Right.” His response must have pleased Genesis, because he plucked the Fire from Cloud’s hand and placed another orb there. Cloud knew instantly that it was another Restore - this time an artificial one. “And the difference between those?”   
  
“This one,” He held up the manufactured orb, “Feels ...less.” That was the best that he could describe it. It was a Restore, that much was obvious to him. He could feel the magic inside, but none of the radiating calm that the other orb held. “The natural stuff feels like it’s… I dunno, calling out? But this one isn’t.”   
  
“You _are_ a fascinating one.” Genesis muttered, and Cloud opened his eyes to watch him. There was a considering look on Genesis’ face as he observed Cloud. “Which do you find easier to cast?”   
  
“Natural.” Cloud answered instantly. “It’s like it tells me how to do it.” That was exactly what it did.   
  
“Natural materia works as a conduit between the caster and the Planet.” Genesis told him, “It does not contain the knowledge of the spell so much as it shows you where to find it. When you cast with natural materia, you’re using a combination of your own energy and that of the Planet, using the materia as a roadmap.”   
  
“And with the artificial?” This was actually kind of fascinating. Cloud had his fair share of experience with materia, but there were still things that he didn’t seem to know.   
  
“The artificial materia is more like a recipe in a grandmother’s cookbook. The ingredients and steps are there, but you have to look for them through a life story. There is no connection to the Planet, and no useful knowledge other than what is written.”   
  
“So natural materia has other knowledge?” Cloud questioned with a frown, not quite understanding. All materia had limitations. You couldn’t cast ice with a Fire materia, after all.   
  
“Yes. That’s why you can unlock new spells as it grows. Over time, materia teaches you how to look for the knowledge you need, on an instinctual level.”   
  
“That doesn’t make sense.” Cloud countered, “If that were the case, why can someone use a third tier spell from someone else’s mastered materia?”  
  
Genesis raised an eyebrow at that, as if surprised that Cloud knew that that was possible. But he seemed to go with it. “Because as it’s teaching the caster, the caster is also teaching it. The materia allows the caster to learn new knowledge, but it also learns how to retain that knowledge. When someone new uses it, the materia has already learned how to access that spell _through_ the caster.”   
  
It took Cloud a moment to think that through. It kind of made sense. It also explained why his spells were stronger with the materia he’d mastered himself, as opposed to the ones his teammates had.   
  
It also went a little in the way of explaining how he was able to use magic _without_ materia. Somehow, he’d managed to retain that knowledge without having to have a conduit to the Planet. Maybe it was because he’d been in the lifestream so often? Or maybe it had something to do with how he came back into the past.   
  
Unfortunately, Genesis was probably the best person to ask, but that would also mean that he would have to explain his new ability. If Genesis _already_ found him fascinating, he would have no chance of getting rid of him if the man found out what he could do.   
  
“Cast them.” Genesis ordered, gesturing to the two orbs in Cloud’s hands. “Feel the difference in the cast, armed with the knowledge you now have.”   
  
“At the same time?” Until now, he had assumed that he couldn’t do that without an orb of W-Magic, but now he was curious if his abilities would allow him to.   
  
“Of course not.” Genesis rolled his eyes. “Using two unlinked materia at the same time is impossible. And even if they were linked, two magic class materia wouldn’t work in tandem. One at a time.”   
  
Cloud nodded, taking a mental note to try duel casting when he and Sephiroth were away from Midgar.   
  
First, he cast the artificial materia, pushing the magic from the orb and dousing himself with healing magic. It felt different to natural magic here too. Cold and prickly, like pins and needles rather than warm. Then, without missing a beat, he used the natural materia. It was exactly as he had expected it to be, warm and comforting, like a blanket on a cold day.   
  
“The real stuff is nicer.” Was how he summed it up, not entirely sure what Genesis wanted to hear.   
  
“They’re both ‘real’.” Genesis said with a sigh, “But yes, the natural materia is nicer. Did you learn anything about what we just talked about?”   
  
Honestly, Cloud hadn’t been paying that much attention. Using magic was almost second nature to him now, so he hadn’t exactly had to reach into the orb for the knowledge he needed. But he did remember having to do that early on in his journey. So he cast again, trying to slow down and remember that feeling.   
  
Eventually, he shook his head, finding that his skill with materia had prevented him from being able to find that feeling again.   
  
“No matter.” Genesis dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand. “Keep thinking on it, and try to feel it when you cast.” Cloud nodded in agreement.  
  
After a moment, he remembered that Genesis had come to the training room after him, but probably hadn’t been seeking him out. Especially since he technically didn’t have the clearance to be there by himself. “Did you want the room?” He questioned, and Genesis nodded.   
  
“Originally, yes. But this has been a far more entertaining endeavour than slashing at computerised enemies. Continue as you were.”   
  
Cloud held his hand out, hoping that Genesis would give him the Dark Firaga back, but no such luck.   
  
“Oh no, you’re not getting this back. You shouldn’t have even been able to sign it out. I will return it to where it should be.” Instead, Genesis held his own hand out, and Cloud dutifully handed over the two Restore materia.   
  
“Try this instead.” Genesis offered him another orb and Cloud took it. Artificial Fire again.   
  
“Fine.” He turned back to the dummy he had set up before and set off a simple cast.   
  
  
  
“Another thing to note.” Genesis spoke behind him as Cloud set off another cast. “The level of artificial materia is unique to the caster.”   
  
“What does that mean?”   
  
“I have mastered that one. Yet for you, it will still be at a low level. That is why you’ll find that SOLDIER’s are somewhat protective over their materia.”   
  
That kind of made sense to Cloud. If the materia was leveled only for you, then you were less likely to lend it out and far more likely to hoard it and not lose track of it.   
  
“What about casting without materia?” Cloud asked, hoping he could weedle some answers from Genesis without giving himself away. “Is that possible?”   
  
“Not in reality, no.”   
  
“What does _that_ mean?” Cloud paused in his casting and turned to face Genesis, feeling now what Sephiroth had meant about the magic not needing to be released. The orb in his hand wasn’t building energy like the natural stuff would.   
  
“The idea of casting without materia is something common in old stories. There are legends and myths, but it’s not possible.” Genesis dismissed the idea right away, but Cloud wanted to know more.   
  
“Do you know the myths?” he questioned, ignoring how Genesis gestured for him to continue casting.   
  
“Some. But it won’t do you any good to fill your head with that nonsense. Concentrate on what’s real.”   
  
“Low on mana.” Cloud lied, dropping his arm. It was a good excuse, and one that Genesis wouldn't be able to disprove without forcing an ether on him.   
  
“Fine.” Genesis sighed, “But we might as well do it somewhere more comfortable. Care for a meal?”   
  
Cloud shrugged in agreement.   
  
\-- -- -- -- -- -- --   
  
Cloud and Genesis hadn’t been sitting at the table for long when they were joined by both Angeal and Sephiroth. Cloud looked up at them in confusion for a moment before realizing that Genesis must have invited them.   
  
He probably should have seen it coming, since Genesis had picked up far more food than the two of them could reasonably eat. He hadn’t really thought about it at the time, figuring that the man had probably picked up enough to last himself a few days.   
  
As the other two sat down, they both glanced at Cloud, then at Genesis.   
  
“Cloud has asked me to tell him a bedtime story.” Genesis said in way of explanation, and Cloud was a little disappointed that they couldn’t see him roll his eyes.   
  
“Oh? And what will you be telling him?” Sephiroth questioned, seemingly in better spirits than he had been this morning.   
  
“He asked about the legends of the Sorcerers.”   
  
“Oh boy.” Angeal muttered, leaning over the table to help himself to some food.   
  
“I’m not familiar with those stories.” Sephiroth admitted, looking intrigued.   
  
“Not surprised.” Angeal told him, “They’re not commonly told, but Genesis wouldn’t shut up about them when we were kids.” He turned to Cloud, a smile on his face, “Buckle up. You’ll be here a while.”   
  
Cloud shrugged. Genesis’ apartment wasn’t that uncomfortable, and he had an actual dining table, which was a definite improvement from eating at Sephiroth’s coffee table.   
  
Besides, he was curious about these stories.   
  
“How much do you know of the Cetra?” Genesis began, and Cloud knew he would have to answer carefully. He glanced at Sephiroth, realizing that the man was thinking the same thing.   
  
As far as the world knew, the Cetra had died out long ago, but both Cloud and Sephiroth knew that that wasn’t the case. There was one living not too far from them, after all.   
  
“Uh… nothing?” Cloud answered, knowing that the word ‘Cetra’ wasn’t a commonly known one. Everybody knew them by the name ‘Ancients’. “What’s that?”   
  
“I’m somewhat surprised.” Genesis admitted. “I spoke to you at length about how materia is a connection to the Planet and you didn’t even bat an eye, and yet you have no knowledge about the Cetra?”   
  
Right. The Lifestream was supposedly a religious concept in this time, wasn’t it? Cloud felt stupid for not realizing that sooner and at least questioning Genesis on what he had meant. Oh well. He could recover from this.   
  
“Figured you were religious.” He said with a shrug. “Didn’t want to offend you, and what you said kinda made sense.” He tried to sound oblivious.   
  
Genesis didn’t look convinced, but he let it go. “The Cetra are better known as the Ancients. Though as you can probably imagine, nobody calls themselves ‘Ancient’ during their own time.” Cloud nodded and decided that it really was time for him to start eating. If Angeal was right about how long they were going to be there, there was no point in starving while he listened.   
  
Beside him, Sephiroth also began to pile his plate.   
  
Genesis had picked Wutanian cuisine, something that wasn’t commonly found in Midgar, and Cloud tried to make it look like he wasn’t familiar with the food. He forced himself to ‘try’ a bit of everything, including the things he knew he didn’t like. It was all for show, after all.   
  
“Okay, so the Ancients were called the Cetra.” He prompted after a moment, gesturing for Genesis to continue.   
  
“Yes. They were said to be able to commune directly with the Planet, to hear her words and feel her feelings.” He paused, as if waiting for Cloud to object to the story being somewhat religious. Unfortunately for Genesis there would be no such objection. Cloud knew for a fact that the Cetra could hear the Planet. He also knew that her ‘words’ weren’t as concrete as Genesis seemed to think.   
  
From what Aerith had told him, the Planet spoke less with words, and more with feelings and instincts. She had lamented that it was difficult for her to understand exactly what the Planet was getting at. At least until they had met the spirits of the Ancients in the temple.   
  
“It was said that a very select few of them were able to cast without the need for materia. They were known as ‘Sorcerers’ and were all but worshiped by the masses. Stories would be told of their exploits, of their ability to cast almost any spell under the sun, and even create their own by combining magic.”   
  
“How?” Cloud asked, since that was the question that had been burning in his mind. Apparently both he himself and Sephiroth were Sorcerers, and he wanted to know how and why.   
  
Genesis levelled him with a look, “How would I know?” He questioned, “The stories simply say that they had to undergo a lot of training, and when they understood the magic completely, the Planet gifted the ability unto them. They were known to be old and unable to pass the ability on.” Genesis paused to take a sip of his drink and Cloud took that as a reminder to fill his own mouth with food.   
  
“So you know nothing more of them?” Sephiroth asked curiously. This seemed to surprise Genesis and Cloud wondered just how much the general had been interested in materia before their trip through time. He certainly knew how to use it.   
  
“This is nothing more than legends.” Genesis reminded him. “But there are a few that I know.”   
  
Angeal was looking more than bored and had pulled his PHS out to scroll through it while the rest of them talked.   
  
“Tell me.” Cloud requested, for all intents and purposes seeming like an eager student.   
  
“Well. There is the myth that the knowledge of the Sorcerers eventually became condensed into materia. Summon materia to be precise.”   
  
“But there’s only like… sixteen summons, right?” Cloud knew that was exactly how many summons. Or at least, that was how many he had come across in his week long search of the globe. There was a good chance that there were more than that, but that was how many he had mastered.   
  
Genesis gave him a surprised and suspicious look. “There are fifteen that are commonly known about, and theories of over twenty in total.” He said slowly, “Tell me, what are the sixteen you’re talking about.”   
  
Cloud had to stop himself from answering. He knew the list, obviously, could probably recite it in his sleep, but he _shouldn’t_ know that. He shrugged, “I dunno them all. Just remember hearing someone say sixteen.”   
  
It looked like Genesis wanted to ask more, but Angeal spoke up. “Get on with the story, Gen.” Obviously the man just wanted to get it over with so they could talk about something else.   
  
“Alright. Fine. So the Sorcerers are said to have condensed their knowledge into materia _before_ they died. Supposedly there was a ceremony that took place to trap their souls within the stones, though nobody has been able to replicate any results.”  
  
“Is that why Shinra can’t make summon materia?” Cloud asked, honestly curious.   
  
“Perhaps. Though you would have to ask the techs that.”   
  
No thanks. Cloud didn’t really want to have anything more to do with any kind of Shinra scientist than he had to. Let alone sit with them for a chat. No matter how fascinating materia theory suddenly was.   
  
“But wait… did _all_ the Sorcerers do this?”   
  
“It was considered a right of passage, so to speak. Something that was expected of them. I assume there were some who did not, but for the most part, it’s likely.” Genesis did seem to be excited to have a captive audience with his stories.   
  
“But there’s only a dozen or so summons…”   
  
“There is the chance that some were lost to time, or some have yet to be discovered. And even so, I _did_ tell you that Sorcerers were rare. No more than one or two in a generation, and not all generations had them. Hence why they were worshiped as men of great power.”   
  
“So their numbers were few.” Sephiroth mused, pausing in his eating to think. “Do you think that non-Cetra will ever develop their ability?”   
  
“Thinking of teaching SOLDIER?” Angeal remarked. And yeah, Cloud could see how he would come to that conclusion. Sephrioth seemed very interested in the subject, and to anyone who didn’t know that he _was_ a Sorcerer, it would make sense that he would think of a military application for it.   
  
“Perhaps.”   
  
“Don’t get your hopes up.” Genesis warned, “There hasn’t been a report of a single Sorcerer in more than two thousand years. If they ever existed at all. I doubt that any human could manage it.”   
  
“But it’s possible, right?” Cloud asked, “If someone figures out how to understand magic _completely_ …”   
  
“I doubt it.” Genesis responded, “ _I_ am probably the most knowledgeable human when it comes to materia, and I can’t cast a single spell without materia.”   
  
“But do you know _everything_?” Cloud asked, half goading. If there was anything he had learned about Genesis, it was that it was amusing to see him riled up.   
  
“I know every line of every textbook and have almost a decade of experience. I think you would be hard pressed to find someone who knows something I _don’t_.” And wasn’t Genesis entertaining when he was huffy. He even thrust his chest forward and jabbed his thumb into it. Cloud struggled not to show his amusement and made an effort to stop himself from telling Genesis that he actually had _more_ experience with materia than he did.   
  
“It is completely possible to duel cast two different magic materia without the need of them being linked.” Cloud couldn’t help but show off a bit of his knowledge, and it wasn’t until after he had said it that he realized he probably shouldn’t have. The look Genesis was giving him was telling him that he _really_ shouldn’t have said that.   
  
“Would you care to demonstrate such a feat?” Genesis challenged, obviously not believing him.   
  
Cloud just shrugged, “Can’t.” He told him. “Don’t have the right materia.”   
  
“And what materia would you need?” Genesis leaned over the table to look more closely at Cloud, obviously challenging him and trying to catch him in a lie.   
  
“W-Magic.” In for a gil, in for a dozen. Cloud could claim to know this one thing about magic that Genesis didn’t, and he was sure he could come up with a cover story if need be.   
  
“No such thing.” Genesis dismissed the idea. “A fairy tale, nothing more.”   
  
Beside Genesis, Angeal snorted in amusement. “Because _Sorcerers_ are _totally_ real.” He muttered.   
  
“There’s no evidence that they weren’t.” Genesis countered, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest like an angry child.   
  
“And there’s no evidence that W-Magic doesn't exist.” Angeal countered easily, barely looking at his friend as he took another roll from the table and snacked on it. “Why not consider the possibility that it _does_?”   
  
“Because I’ve never heard of it. You want me to believe that me, the leading _expert_ on materia, hasn't heard of it, and a _child_ from an insignificant backwater town _has_?”  
  
“You looked into me?” Cloud asked with a frown, not knowing how else Genesis would know where he was from. He tried not to take offense at being referred to as a child, since technically he was a decade younger than Genesis. Physically at least. Mentally he was almost that much _older_ than Genesis.   
  
“Your accent gives you away.” Angeal told him plainly. “Western continent, right?”   
  
He had an accent? He thought he’d lost that _years_ ago. Suddenly, he was feeling a little self conscious of how he spoke. “Uh, yeah.”   
  
“And yes, I had Angeal look into you.” Genesis added. “Sephiroth claims to be from the same town. I was curious. Sue me.”   
  
“So that’s why you wanted to know.” Angeal finally put his phone down to regard Sephiroth. “Thought you were born in Midgar?”   
  
“The town is called Nibelheim.” Sephiroth said simply, “I lived there until I was around seven or eight years old, but I never got to leave the house I resided in.” His tone told them that he wasn’t going to say anything more on the subject, and Cloud was just fine with that. He wasn’t sure if he could talk about Nibelheim without feeling the need to clam up. It was always a sensitive subject for him.   
  
Luckily for him, the others seemed to recognise Sephiroth’s tone and let the subject drop. They all ate in silence for a moment, but before it could get too awkward, Genesis spoke again.   
  
“Why the sudden questions about magic?” He asked Cloud.  
  
“It’s interesting.” Cloud shrugged, “Kinda lines up a little with the folklore my ma used to tell me.” And now that he was aware of it, he could recognise the accent in himself. Especially with the way he referred to his mother.   
  
“Oh? Maybe it’s time for _you_ to tell us a story.”  
  
Cloud shook his head, “Don’t really remember much.” He said, which was more or less the truth. He could only recall snippets, and could only remember those because the current conversation was reminding him. “Just stuff about old gods sealing their living souls in statues so that Summoners could call them in battle.” He shrugged. “My ma believed in the old religions.”  
  
“I am familiar with some of those.” Sephiroth admitted. “It is said that there was a large entity created by the sins of war that would prey on nonbelievers, and those that could summon were tasked with subduing it.” He continued for the benefit of his friends who were giving him surprised looks. “One of the lab assistants tasked to care for me was a local.” He told them, “She attempted to teach me the old ways but gave up when she realized I was disinterested in religion.”  
  
Strange. Sephiroth was lying. Cloud wasn’t sure how he knew, but for some reason he was sure of it. The general wasn’t giving anything away in his expression, nor his voice but Cloud’s instincts were _convinced_ he was lying.   
  
He made a mental note to ask Sephiroth about it sometime, but let it go for now. Especially considering the way that both Genesis and Angeal seemed to believe him.  
  
“As fascinating as this is,” Angeal spoke, looking directly at Cloud, “You should probably return to your dorm. Curfew is soon.”   
  
Cloud looked at the clock on the wall and nodded. He still had almost an hour, but he didn’t want to end up running late.   
  
“Please do. I would prefer not to add to my paperwork.” Sephiroth said with a sigh. “Report to the garage at 0800.”   
  
Cloud nodded in acknowledgement and shoved a handful of food into his mouth before leaving, not wanting to pass up on the free food. It was a _lot_ better than the slop the cafeteria provided. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All comments are loved! Thank you so much for the feedback with every chapter so far. It definitely keeps me going, and inspires me to keep writing. Sometimes you guys even point out things that I didn't notice, or things that were only supposed to be a small thing but ended up bigger (Khat was only going to be in a handful of chapters to start with, but the love for her keeps her coming back xD)
> 
> As always, I invite you to join us on our discord. We don't just talk about FFVII or my fics. Sometimes we get into conversations about why Zombies aren't covered in maggots...


	12. Mideel Arrival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this work is on Hiatus. I'm adding what I have completed chapter wise until I get inspiration back for it. I also haven't gone over this one too closely, it's pretty much the first draft so there may be more mistakes than usual. 
> 
> Because I'm basically just dumping what I've written up, there will be no art for this chapter. Sorry.

“Genesis knows that you’re more experienced with materia than you want him to believe.” Sephiroth said in way of greeting. He threw the truck keys to Cloud. “Do you know where the seaport is?” He questioned.    
  
“Yeah…” Cloud responded, confused. “Thought we were taking a helicopter?”    
  
“I have been led to believe that a large boat is preferable to helicopters for those with travel sickness.” Sephiroth responded, slightly questioning as if not sure if he was right or not.    
  
“Much preferable.” Cloud grumbled, somehow having forgotten that he once again had motion sickness. He climbed into the truck, glad that Sephiroth had remembered for him and allowed him to drive.    
  
Once they were both settled in and Cloud had pulled the truck out of the garage, he finally remembered what Sephiroth had said to him. “So what makes Genesis think I have more experience with magic?” He questioned, wanting to know if it was his knowledge of W-Magic that had done him in. It had been a stupid thing to say.    
  
“You have no difficulty using materia from your hand.”    
  
“That makes a difference?” Cloud honestly didn’t know. Granted, he hadn’t started using materia that way until long after Meteorfall, when he was already experienced in the use.    
  
“Yes. It is much more difficult for a beginner to cast without the mild augmentation that equipment provides.” Sephiroth explained, “Most cannot do it without several months of strenuous practice.”    
  
“I don’t feel a difference…” Cloud said with a frown.    
  
“You are also able to cast without materia at all. I don’t think you’re in a position to judge difficulty in spellwork.”    
  
“Point.” Cloud conceded. “Was he suspicious about W-Magic at all?” He asked, curious about what else they had talked about after he left.    
  
“No. He firmly believes that you made that up.” Sephiroth said with a small chuckle. “It wounds his pride to think otherwise. Though it does explain a few things for me.”    
  
“It does?”   
  
“I had no idea about the existence of such magic. Our final battle within the crater caused me some confusion. You and your team were seemingly able to use multiple spells and summons at once. I will admit to some jealousy. Though at the time it was disguised by rage. Knowing that you were able to do so because of a particular materia rather than an innate ability that I have never possessed does comfort me somewhat.”    
  
“I could probably do it without it now.” Cloud pointed out, “And you probably can’t.” He added with a grin, smug about the fact that Sephiroth was jealous of something that he could do.    
  
“I am curious about your repertoire.” Sephiroth commented as they left the Shinra complex, the guards just waving them through the moment they saw the general. “I managed to read through the drivel that was Zack’s report on your mission. He seemed ecstatic that you were able to ‘find’ a chocobo.”    
  
Cloud shrugged. “Mastered a few Chocobo Lure materia.” He told him simply.   
  
“I thought Chocobo Lure was an independent materia?” Sephiroth asked, “How are you able to purposefully cast a passive spell?”    
  
“Lots of effort.” Cloud admitted. “Had to think about how the materia made me feel, and if my concentration was broken even for a second, it stopped working.”    
  
“Hmm.” Sephiroth was quiet for a moment, obviously contemplating the same things as Cloud had. “Pity. I could think of a number of passive materia that could have been useful.”    
  
“I had the same thought.” He paused the conversation for a moment to pull up at an intersection, checking the traffic lights and having to try to remember the road rules. He hadn’t really driven in the city in… ever. As far as he could remember. Still, he somehow knew the rules, so he must have done so at some point.    
  
“I want to experiment with magic.” He said when they were moving again. “Figure out what I can and can’t do. See if I can get better at passive stuff.”    
  
Sephiroth nodded, “Well, we will have several days aboard the ferry to think on it.”    
  
Cloud almost slammed on the breaks at that, stopping himself only barely. “ _ Days _ !?” He exclaimed. No way. No way could he handle  _ days _ on a moving vehicle. How would it take that long? They could make it to  _ Wutai _ in that time.    
  
“Yes.” Sephiroth looked at Cloud as if he should have already known that. “We will have to circumnavigate the continent…”    
  
“Nope.” Cloud turned the truck around, absolutely refusing to do it. “Nope.” He said again. “I am  _ not _ spending  _ days _ throwing my guts up overboard.”    
  
“I have already booked the tickets.” Sephiroth objected. “I thought you would prefer it to flying…”    
  
The tone of Sephiroth’s voice told Cloud that he was being completely sincere. He had honestly thought he was doing Cloud a favour. Cloud refused to accept the warm feeling that gave him.    
  
“I’ll refund you.” He offered, “Look, I appreciate the thought, but a couple of hours of absolute hell is preferable to several  _ days _ of mediocre hell.” He sighed, “Is it too late to take a ‘copter?” He asked, ignoring the fact that he could now  _ definitely _ hear his West Continent accent.    
  
Sephiroth shook his head. “It’s a simple matter.” He assured Cloud. “And I didn’t pay anything for the boat. You’re wasting Shinra’s money, not mine.”    
  
“Then I won’t refund it.” Cloud joked, “More than happy to waste Shinra’s money.”    
  
“I assumed as much.”    
  
They made it back to the Shinra building a little faster than their journey out, much to the befuddlement of the gate guards. But nobody stopped them to question why they were back within minutes of leaving.    
  
Within minutes, Cloud had parked the truck exactly where he had found it and climbed out.    
  
“Before I forget-” Sephiroth handed Cloud a small sack. “You left a uniform in my apartment. I took the liberty of laundering it.”    
  
“Huh?” Cloud vaguely remembered dropping a dirty uniform by Sephiroth’s door, but he had no idea why Sephiroth would bother  _ washing _ it before giving it back. He was just glad that he hadn’t delivered it to his dorm. That would have raised  _ far _ too many questions and probably sparked more than one rumour. “Why?” He questioned.    
  
“I noticed it when I was taking my own clothing. It was no bother to add yours with mine.” Sephiroth lied. And again, Cloud  _ knew _ he was lying, and still didn’t know  _ how _ he knew that. Whatever, it wasn’t important and Cloud decided to drop it. If Sephiroth wanted to do his chores for him, then so be it. He wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.    
  
He didn’t bother dropping it back at his dorm. It was always handy to have a spare when travelling, especially if there was the chance that he would throw up on himself.    
  
He let Sephiroth lead him to the top of the building even though he knew exactly where they were going. Long ago, he had fought Rufus here during their raid on the building. This time the journey up was far less effort.    
  
Apparently Sephrioth had sent a message ahead because there was a Turk waiting for them when they arrived. Cloud didn’t recognise the woman, but he  _ did _ recognise the distinct uniform. Which was a little ironic, given that the Turks wore suits to supposedly blend in.    
  
“Shotgun.” Sephiroth greeted the Turk who nodded in acknowledgement before climbing aboard and beginning preflight checks. Cloud followed Sephiroth into the back of the chopper.    
  
They couldn’t continue their conversation from before, thanks to the presence of a Turk, but they probably  _ should _ talk about something. Not only would it distract Cloud from impending motion sickness, but it would also look strange for them to sit in complete silence.    
  
Sephiroth seemed to have much the same idea. Almost as soon as they were both wearing headsets, he began to speak.    
  
“Our mission is much the same as the last.” He told Cloud, “Though the enemies we will face will be much more difficult than Kalm Fangs.”    
  
“What’s our target?”    
  
“Hippogriffs. Their migratory season has begun and it seems that they will attempt to go  _ through _ Mideel rather than around it. It happens every so often.”   
  
“So we hunt them before they can get to town?” Cloud asked, half curious about what the town would look like. Technically he had been there before Ultimate WEAPON had burst through the ground, but he hadn’t exactly been fit for sight seeing. He could only remember the town in ruins.    
  
Sephiroth shook his head. “We will be assisting in defending the town should their predictions prove to be correct. We are to use the town as a base and fight as needed. The first pack shouldn’t be arriving for several days, which should give us time to get situated and learn what we can from the local population. This will be your first task. I will supervise.”   
  
Cloud wasn’t sure if that was really the case, or if Sephiroth was saying that for the Turk’s benefit. Though he wouldn’t put it past Sephiroth to force the grunt work on him. Either way, he would much prefer to hunt them than to sit and wait.    
  
Still. Staying in town meant it was likely they would have actual beds, and not have to sleep on the ground. That would be a bonus.   
  
\-- -- -- -- -- -- --    
  
As Cloud had predicted, the trip on the helicopter was utter  _ hell _ . It had taken a full twenty minutes for the motion sickness to kick in, and he’d managed to mitigate it a little by staring out the window, but he was more than a little relieved when the helicopter touched down.    
  
He wasted no time in clambering out, bending over in an effort to settle his stomach wondering how the hell he had overcome it the last time. Did  _ forgetting _ about it seriously work?    
  
At this point, he was a little tempted to see if Hojo could stab him with some weird chemical that would fix it.    
  
Okay, that was a bit of an exaggeration, but Cloud was seriously wishing he knew of a way to stop feeling like shit whenever he climbed in a vehicle. It took him a full five minutes to be able to even stand upright without feeling like he was going to vomit. He was vaguely aware of the helicopter leaving and Sephiroth standing patiently by his side, waiting for him to recover.    
  
“Fuck.” Cloud muttered, swallowing thickly to try to dispel the nausea. On a whim, he threw an Esuna spell at himself and was only slightly astonished by the fact that it worked.    
  
“Huh.” He was still feeling a little queasy, but nowhere near as much as he had just seconds ago. “Esuna. Whodda thought.” He said mostly to himself.    
  
“You’ve never tried that before?” Sephiroth questioned.    
  
“Motion sickness went away before I ever even cast a spell.” He pointed out, “Didn’t really think about it before.” He probably should have. For Yuffie, if not for himself. Why had nobody ever told him that it would help?    
  
The rest of the nausea didn’t seem to be going away, so he threw a Regen spell on himself. Either it would work, or it wouldn’t, but it was worth a try.    
  
Sephiroth looked to the sky, his eyes landing on the helicopter that was almost out of sight. “We have two options.” He said, his tone switching to that of a general. It was a small shift, but one that Cloud noticed. “We can enter the town, set up our lodgings, and begin the mission…”    
  
“Or?”    
  
“We can go hunting.”    
  
“That. Let’s do that.” Cloud was far more interested in hunting monsters than he was in talking to people. He would take that option almost any day. Talking to strangers wasn’t something he was very good at anymore, not since he left behind the Zack-like persona he had once hid behind. People just didn’t make sense to him, strangers especially.    
  
Monsters, however… Monsters he knew. “Sea Worms?” He suggested, gesturing towards where he knew the shore to be. AVALANCHE had quickly realized that the monsters native to this area made great target practice for their spellwork. They’d spent a few days doing nothing but running around the woods killing everything they could find and returning to the town only to sell monster parts and to sleep.    
  
He knew this area pretty well, and knew which monsters would pose the most challenge.    
  
Sephiroth gestured for Cloud to lead the way, obviously sensing his confidence, and Cloud was quick to oblige. It would take them less than an hour to reach the shore, and that was if they encountered something along the way. By the placement of the sun, Cloud figured they still had several hours before dusk, which gave them plenty of time to experiment with magic.    
  
\-- -- -- -- -- -- --    
  
Surprisingly, they ran into very little on their way to the beach. Lower levelled monsters seemed to flee before there was any point in fighting them, which was a bit of a disappointment for Cloud. Just because they were easy to take out, didn’t mean they weren’t worth it. His old habit of hunting everything he could for spare cash was something that had never truly gone away.    
  
“They sense the mako in our systems.” Sephiroth explained unprompted. “They see us as a predator.”    
  
“They used to swarm us when we trained here.”    
  
“I’ve found that most small creatures will flee from me.” Sephiroth shrugged, obviously implying that that was the reason that they were being avoided now, when AVALANCHE had not been. “You will also find monsters to be somewhat weaker than you remember. After I returned to the Lifestream I found that I was able to manipulate the level of mako found in some creatures. I took it as a challenge to put bigger threats in your way.”    
  
Cloud paused in his movements, looking at Sephiroth incredulously. “You what?” He questioned, not quite believing it.    
  
He hadn’t had much experience with monsters since returning to the past, so it was quite possible that they were weaker than he remembered, but Sephiroth causing that? For some reason, that was hard to believe.    
  
Sephiroth shrugged, “It seemed like an interesting way to pass the time.”    
  
“You… tried to kill me… for  _ fun _ ?” 

  
“You were also trying to kill me.”    
  
“To save the world!” Cloud protested. “Not to play a  _ game _ !”    
  
“You said you used this area for training. Perhaps my ‘game’ assisted you.”    
  
Cloud just stared at Sephiroth for a moment, not sure how he should feel about that. While it was true that fighting stronger monsters had forced his team to get stronger, he was also somewhat irritated with the idea that the monsters getting stronger wasn’t a coincidence.    
  
Then again, it  _ did _ make sense. Why else would the monsters have been getting stronger and stronger as they travelled? It made very little sense if the reason was one of geography. He had always just thought that monsters in Mideel were naturally stronger than those near Midgar.    
  
“Right…” He didn’t know what else to say, “So anything we fight now should be weaker than what we’ve fought before?”    
  
“Yes.” Sephiroth answered simply, as if he hadn’t just dropped a bomb shell on Cloud. “I doubt anything here would present much difficulty for you, either way.” He pointed out, “If you are able to defeat me, there shouldn’t be anything here that would pose a threat.”    
  
“I mean, yeah. If I were at full power.” Cloud began walking towards the shore again, Sephiroth matching his pace. “But I’m pretty sure I’m still not at full strength.”    
  
“Are you still overthinking things?”    
  
“I dunno. Haven’t exactly had much to fight lately.” Which was another reason why he had wanted to go hunting. He needed to know for sure what he could do and how he would act in a real combat setting. Not only with his magic, but also with his sword. Such as it was.    
  
Maybe he could pick up something better in Mideel.    
  
They walked in comfortable silence for a while, each lost in their own musing before Sephiroth spoke again. “How are you feeling?” He questioned.    
  
“Huh?” It took Cloud a moment to realize that the question was genuine. Having Sephiroth actually  _ care _ about him was still very odd. “Fine.” He answered. “Relieved,” He elaborated. “I forgot how much I hate being in Midgar.”    
  
“You prefer to be in nature?”    
  
“Well… I’m a country boy.” Cloud shrugged, “Even after everything settled down, I didn’t stay in the city for more than a week or two at a time.”    
  
“I’m surprised you’re so comfortable in the forest. If I remember correctly, there weren’t many trees in Nibelheim.”    
  
“I’ve spent a lot more time out of Nibelheim than I ever spent  _ in _ it. Didn’t really go back after it… burned. That was nearly twenty years ago for me.” And it was still hard for him to talk about. He didn’t really want to even  _ think _ about it, generally. While he did have the occasional pleasant flashback - the first time Tifa had made Nibel Stew after Meteorfall, Cloud had spent several hours remembering snippets of conversations with his mother - most of them were horrific and best avoided if he didn’t want to face several days of depression.    
  
Those were usually the times when he fled the city for the longest. Wanting to be away from anything and everything that reminded him of ‘home’. Unfortunately that included not only Tifa, but the rest of AVALANCHE.    
  
“When things got bad, I’d sometimes go and hide in a forest.” Cloud admitted out loud, trying to pull himself away from the thoughts of his long lost hometown. “Easier to forget.”    
  
“Ah.” Sephiroth didn’t ask any more questions, and Cloud was thankful for that.    
  
It didn’t take them much longer to arrive at the shore, and only a very short time after that for them to find their first Sea Worm. “They’re weak against Ice.” Cloud told Sephiroth, not sure if the man had ever fought one before. It was likely, but he would rather make sure that Sephiroth had that information either way. “And Earth magic heals them.”    
  
“I am aware.” Sephiroth assured him. He gestured at the monstrosity before them, “Would you care to do the honours?” He offered, and Cloud gladly took him up on that.    
  
While it was true that he wanted to practice his magic, he also wanted to see where his swordwork was at. He  _ knew _ he could fling spells - probably even better and faster than he had been able to before - but he had no idea how far behind he was with his blade.    
  
So he took his sword out and went to town, glad that Sephiroth stayed back and let him have this one to himself.    
  
The worm fell sooner than he expected and quicker than he would have liked. He hadn’t even managed to get halfway to his limit break. He wasn’t sure if that was because he was stronger than the last time he fought one, or if it truly was weaker.    
  
“We can find you another.” Sephiroth sounded like a parent indulging a small child, and Cloud hoped that the tone wasn’t intentional. Especially as he really  _ did _ want to find another. Too bad they rarely traveled in groups.    
  
“You ever master Enemy Lure?” He questioned. When Sephiroth raised an eyebrow and nodded, Cloud continued. “Good. Use that.”    
  
“How?”    
  
Right. Enemy Lure was a passive, and Sephiroth had never used his new ability to cast one of those.    
  
“Remember how it felt to use it and focus on that.” He tried to remember what Enemy Lure felt like. With Chocobo Lure it had been simple - that had easily been one of his most used passive spells. Not only to catch what they needed for breeding, but also because chocobos were a good alternative to walking. There were some days that they had all been far too exhausted to keep going on foot, and it had been up to Cloud to find enough chocobos for everybody.    
  
Barret and Cid had both joked that Cloud found it easier to catch them because of his hair. They likened it to a baby chocobo. At the time the jokes had irritated him but after Aerith had pointed out that baby chocobos were stupidly adorable, he had instead felt embarrassed and unable to convince himself that the guys weren’t calling him cute.    
  
Enemy Lure was something that he hadn’t used nearly as often. There was very little need for it. The monsters they faced came at them rapidly enough as it was. Still, there was a time or two when they had actively used it - mostly to increase their chances of finding chocobos.    
  
He snorted in amusement when he realised that he’d  _ accidentally _ mastered it by leaving it equipped by mistake.    
  
“Hmm?” His laugh had resulted in Sephiroth making an inquisitive sound.    
  
“Just realized that I mastered Enemy Lure by mistake.” Cloud answered with a shrug. “Forgot to take it out of my sword. Kinda explains why there were so many dragons in the Crater.”    
  
“No. That was me.” Sephiroth shrugged, “You were getting too close.”    
  
Cloud glared at him, for once annoyed that his helmet got in the way of his expression. “Were the Tonberries you too?”    
  
“No. You stumbled into their nest and killed one of them. They tend to hold a grudge about such things.”    
  
Wasn’t  _ that _ the truth. Still, Cloud held his glare for a long moment, wondering what else Sephirtoh had thrown in his way during his journey. At this point, it wouldn’t surprise him if it was Sephiroth that had woken the WEAPONs.    
  
“Enemy Lure is bitter.” Cloud said, concentrating on the feeling. “It feels like something following you, even when you know nothing is. An overwhelming sense of unease.” Which just made him all the more surprised that he had managed to  _ forget _ to unequip it. No wonder he was antsy at times.    
  
“I have very little experience with that.”    
  
“Imagine Hojo standing behind you with a scalpel.” The grimace Sephirtoh gave assured Cloud that he had found that feeling. “Concentrate on that feeling of impending doom.”    
  
“I would rather not.” Sephiroth refused, his tone sharper than Cloud was expecting. “Much like you have your traumas, so do I, and I would rather not dwell on them.”    
  
“Sorry.” Cloud should probably have realized. He genuinely felt bad for stumbling upon something that could trigger flashbacks in Sephiroth. Even when they were bitter enemies, he would have never done that on purpose. “You okay?” He questioned.    
  
“Yes.” Sephiroth sounded a little calmer now. “But perhaps Enemy Lure is not the passive ability I should learn with.”   
  
“Probably not.” Coud agreed, “I’ll do it.” He offered, closing his eyes and concentrating.    
  
It wasn’t the most pleasant thing to cast, and he could already feel his anxiety rising. The image of Hojo coming close to him with a scalpel was almost enough to have him break down again, and he quickly gave it up and shook his head.    
  
“Let’s just do it the old fashioned way.” He conceded, trying to get rid of the fear gripping at his chest. Enemy Lure was probably something he would have to equip rather than use without materia. “Remind me to stop by the Gold Saucer at some point to pick one up.” He said to Sephiroth.    
  
“The Gold Saucer?”    
  
Cloud turned to look at Sephiroth and realized the man had no idea what he was talking about. He felt bad for him, it being obvious that he’d never been to the theme park. “A theme park, in the Corel Desert.”    
  
“There’s nothing in the Corel Desert aside from the town.”    
  
Confused, Cloud frowned. “When will the reactor be built?” He questioned. He remembered quite clearly the ruins at the bottom of the Saucer, and it  _ did _ look like the town had been destroyed  _ before _ it had been built. Barret had said that the town had been burned just after the reactor was completed, but had never been able to give him a reason why.    
  
Come to think of it, he never quite figured out why Shinra would want to put a reactor by Corel anyway. It was a bit out of the way, and the only town close to it was Corel, who were self-sufficient enough to not need it. The next closest town geographically speaking was Nibelheim - which already had its own reactor. What had they been planning to power?   
  
He had originally thought that it was just a money grab - build the reactor then charge the townspeople to use it, but if they already had enough power to run their town, why would they bother paying Shinra’s exorbitant prices?    
  
But if they built the reactor so that they could build the Gold Saucer… That made a kind of sick sense. It would also explain why they destroyed the town. Use the people for their labour, and then wipe out the town that was in their way.    
  
“I believe construction will be complete late next year.”    
  
That tracked. Nibelhiem was a few months away, and from what Barret had told him, Corel had suffered it’s fate about a year later. Which meant that the Gold Saucer wouldn’t be built for a few years yet.    
  
Unfortunately, that was where Cloud had managed to acquire his orb of Enemy Lure. He had no idea where else he would find it.    
  
“Cloud.” He was pulled from his thoughts when Sephiroth pointed behind him. Another Sea Worm was approaching them from the water.    
  
Part of him wanted the distraction from his current thought spiral and increasing hatred of Shinra, but another part of him was suddenly disinterested in a long battle. So he lazily waved a hand and threw a third tier Ice spell at it, not even bothering to watch as it died.    
  
“Let’s get back to town.” He muttered.    
  
\-- -- -- -- -- -- --    
  
Mideel was a small, quaint town full of happy, friendly people. They were greeted by no less than nine natives as they made their way to the tiny inn. Cloud made an effort to smile and wave back, knowing that he would need to talk to them soon enough and making a good first impression would help with that.    
  
It was exhausting.    
  
By the time they had sorted their room for the night, Cloud was ready to flop into a bed and sleep, even though the sun wasn’t even close to setting yet. The last few days, and his thoughts about Corel, had taken a toll on his mental fortitude and sapped his energy. The flight over didn’t help a whole lot either.    
  
“Mind if I crash early?” He questioned Sephiroth, not even caring about the answer. It just seemed like the polite thing to do.    
  
“Go ahead.” The general didn’t even look up from where he was stowing his small bag under the bed. “I will wake you when it is time for our evening meal.”    
  
Cloud nodded and curled up on the bed he had claimed, allowing himself to fall into slumber. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a long wait, and this chapter is nothing special. I apologise for that, but my inspiration for this fic has sort of taken a nap in the back of my mind. I do intend on continuing it at some point, but I don't know when.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, I'm interested in hearing what people have to say! Feel free to leave a comment, or join us on our discord! https://discord.gg/4WDhMVb (If the link doesn't work for whatever reason, leave a comment and I'll reply with a new one)


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